SkySong
by Samhain Morrigan
Summary: Journey of two Queens to become powerful rulers of the Light Realm   I do not own anything, I just did this for fun  First time posting anything on here, please be gentle!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Black Jewels Trilogy or any other of Anne Bishops works, I just enjoy the stories. Asha and Akira are my own creations.

_Prolog_

"In to bed now, little ones." Emma said as she pulled the covers down to tuck in her charges.

The two young girls kissed her on her aged cheek as they settled into the large bed in the nursery. The girls were considered half breeds or bastards, they were abandoned according to the court rumors and both were suppose to grow into vicious cruel Queens that would continue in Dorothea's footsteps, although if it was up to Emma it would never happen.

"Will you be telling us more of the Blood's history?" Asha asked first, her golden green eyes sparked with interest.

Long dark red hair fell around her young face and pooled on her pillow, her skin held the golden glow of the sun though she did not spend much time outside. It was her eyes and skin color that spoke of a Hayllian heritage.

"Or can we hear more about the Old Ways, and how courts truly were suppose to be like." asked the other girl, long wavy black hair gleamed in the low light, sliding like silk over her pillow brushing against Asha's tresses.

Her skin was pale and seemed to glow from the inside; her unusual eyes were framed by long black lashes that caressed her cheek when she blinked. Her eyes, pools of silver shone in the light. No one had any idea what race this one came from but whatever combination she was there was no denying that she would grow up to be a very beautiful woman.

Emma adored both the girls, but she was old and entering the last phase in her life; she couldn't be happier that she could spend it with these two promising Queens. She was determined that neither girl will be pulled into the corrupt ruling body, a complete mocker of a Court. She spent a couple of hours each night as she tucked them in to teach them about how the courts used to be ruled by honorable and just Queens, and to tell them stories of the Blood.

With a tender smile she settled into her favorite chair and began spinning a story about a magnificent Queen whom by sheer will stood against the coming darkness to bring light to her people and the land, she than told about the people of her Court and the roles each played. By the end of her story both girls were asleep, small smiles touching their lips.

_A couple of years later…_

The dark hair girl woke to a pain filled scream in her head, waves of torment and agony seemed to pour into her body, arching her spine as she lay in bed. The voice in her mind wasn't her own or even female, the scream was a male, someone she wasn't familiar with. Panting as the first wave ebbed she reached out to the man, pushing through the pain to reach him.

Hello? Who are you? Are you all right?

Who are you? You should not be doing this, go before they continue

But I can help you; you don't have to go through this alone

The man's voice was pleasantly deep, and though full of crippling pain he was gentle in his words and tone. Having never had any pleasant experiences with males, it was a soothing change but still made her heart race with anxiety. There was something about his voice that called to her, that somehow just exchanging a few words, he had become important to her at level she didn't quite understand yet. She would not let him suffer alone.

I may not know who you are, but no one deserves to suffer like this for nothing. I may not be very strong or very experienced, but I will not let you do this alone, I will not!

Lady… his reply was cut off as the pain came again.

Gritting her teeth, she dug in. She found that she could take most of the pain from him if she concentrated hard enough. The endless agony seemed to last for hours, but lasted no more than several minutes. Just before the man passed out he reached out one last time.

Thank you…

_Days later…_

Everyone was screaming, except the guards that were dragging Emma away from the girls. The Opal jeweled Queen stood by screaming accusations at the nurse. The two girls were held by other guards, were screaming and sobbing trying to help their nurse and only friend. The guards holding on to Emma forced her to her knees in front of the girls.

"You treasonous bitch! How dare you try to rise above you rank! You will pay with your life!" the enraged Queen yelled at Emma.

With an unseen signal from the captain of the guard, another soldier stepped forward a blade in his hand. Grabbing a handful of Emma's hair he yanked her head back exposing her throat. With one smooth move she slashed the nurse's throat, the crimson sprayed over the girls. Their only friend in this world was gone; there would be no more stories of honor and courage, no more hugs and kisses before bed.

"Get them out of here, it's time they find out what it means to be treated as traitors." the Queen's voice held only contempt. The guards holding the girls dragged them out the bedroom door and down the hall, going down a stair case and down a couple more hallways. A few people passed them, but no one offered any help, one male Warlord Prince though stood out to the dark haired girl. He was tall, well muscled and his dark eyes pinned the girl where she struggled with the guard pulling her away. There was something about him that seemed too familiar, like she should know him from somewhere. It came to her in a rush; this was the male that was in pain a few months back. From the look that flashed in his eyes, he was aware of whom she was as well, but there wasn't anything he could do to help them, and she knew that.

Please don't do anything, there's nothing to be done. She begged him, praying he just walked by. He seemed to flinch as he walked by, like he forced himself to stop from acting. He paused in the hallway staring back at the girls as they were dragged away to the cells.

_Several months later…_

A raging witch storm rolled through the realm of Terreille by the time the storm passed hundreds were dead, many were broken and even more struggling to pick up the pieces. Huddling in their cell the two girls jumped when their cell door opened and a Warlord Prince stood in the doorway. The girls recognized him quickly; it was the man the dark haired girl had helped. He came into the room moving quickly he kneeled by the girls on the floor.

"Come on, we must move quickly. We need to leave now, the ladens are rioting against the Blood and we do not want to be caught in the middle of it"

Asha got to her feet first; reaching down to help her friend to hers, when her friend stumbled; the Warlord Prince scooped her up and led them out of the building.

_Chapter 1_

I jerked awake; sweat coated my skin as I struggled to push back the memories. It had been almost three year since we had gained freedom, but still I was plagued by memories and nightmares. I'm sure that Asha also had them, but she seemed to be moving on with her life. Either that or she had become quite adept at hiding them. Shaking my head I dragged the covers off me and went to the dark window in my small room, the sky was just starting to brighten a little, brushing my hair out of my face I smiled. Even the darkest night has to brighten at some point. With that thought I pulled on my work clothes, today Asha and I had to weed the garden, we had kept putting it off as long as we could preferring to enjoy the sunny days and the quiet. There was a light knock on my door as I was just finishing up tying my hair back. Asha stuck her head in the door when I opened it a little.

"Oh good I thought I would have to wake you up, so glad you were able to get up on your own, you know how hard it is for anyone to wake you sometimes." She said as a way of saying good morning.

"Good morning to you too, Asha. Just how long have you been up anyway?"

"Get up? Wouldn't I have had to have gone to sleep in order for me to wake up?"

"You didn't stay up all night again, did you? You have any idea how hard that is on a person's body let alone mind, well than I guess I shouldn't be too worried since you have long since lost what little mind you ever had."

"Ha ha you think you're so funny! Well for your information I do have a mind; it's just too complicated for someone like you to understand."

"Oh please! How about instead of standing here trading insults like a couple of crowing roosters, we get something to nibble on and actually try to get some work done today?"

"Fine than, but I get some coffee before we even consider any task other than breathing."

"Works for me… try not to drink too much, your impossible when you've had too much."

"How is it possible to have too much coffee? It's my life's blood, the essence of who I am the utter soul of my being."

"Enough, I'm hungry." I laughed as I passed her leaving my room and headed towards the kitchen. The house was quiet this time of day, usually since our guardian had passed away shortly after we settled in this home. It was hard to believe sometimes that he took us from that horrible place and has since left us on our own. He had done all he could to make sure we were hidden from the prowling Warlord Princes who were always looking out for anyone who may have had any connection to the horrible courts they were once locked in. I felt sorry for them even as I feared them, there was little doubt in my mind that given a chance they would probably kill Asha and me on the spot rather than listen to anything we might have to say. Every night I would say a prayer that whatever our guardian had done to hide would hold out and continue to protect us, cause as much as I hell we had gone through neither one of us wanted to die.

The kitchen was tidy even through it was tiny. Asha quickly set about getting herself a pot of coffee, and I gathered the ingredients to make breakfast. I decided the quickest easiest thing to make was an omelet. Whisking a few eggs in a bowl, I started the fire in the stove, setting the pan on top to warm up before I poured the eggs into it, tossing in a few onions, and bits of ham from last night's dinner in the eggs I poured the mix into the heated pan. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled when I saw Asha hugging her mug of coffee so tightly that it seemed like she was trying to absorb it into herself. Her contented smile was always amusing to see. Turning the eggs over to finish cooking I grabbed a couple plates from the cupboard and split the omelet between them and brought them to the table. Setting a fork beside Asha's plate I took my seat to eat my own breakfast. After doing the dishes and tiding up the little kitchen we both laughed as we rolled up our sleeves and headed out to the garden, that was bathed in the early morning light. Staring at the garden in dismay, I looked over to Asha and winced.

"I don't think we should have put it off so long."

"I think they all sprouted up over night because they knew we were going to be doing this today."

"Do you really think that the weeds really have that much personality?" I chuckled and sighed.

"Alright I figure we should start at a corner and work our way across, or something."

"Works for me" she said and stomped over to the far corner and settled in.

Rolling my shoulders I buckled down in my own corner and started the long and tedious process of sorting weeds from early plants and soon I become lost in the monotonous task.

Janelle looked up from her web, hope and excitement filled her heart. She carefully stashed her web away and left her room to find the person that would be most suitable for this adventure. Darting quickly down the hallways and stairs she reached his office, she knocked softly on the wood knowing that he probably already knew she was there. When he bid her to enter, she smiled and went in. She was about to inform the man about his newest charges, even if he didn't know it yet.

It wasn't till midday that I looked up from the dirt. Wiping my forehead on my sleeve I looked up to the sun wondering how it got to be so late. Looking over at Asha, I could see that she was still lost in her work muttering things under her breath. It was probably just curses or it may be she was talking to people only she was aware of. Standing slowly to stretch out cramped muscles, I wiped the dirt from my hand and headed toward the house. I wasn't sure about Asha but I was hungry again, so I thought I'd make a couple of sandwiches for lunch before we moved on with our chores. Bringing out Asha's lunch I tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump and stare at me with wide unstaring eyes. After a couple of blinks she smiled up at me.

"Thanks" as she took the sandwich.

"After you finish eating we had better go collect the eggs from the coop, than it might be an idea to clean up the house before Dante returns home for dinner."

"Alright, I'm just about finished here anyway."

I nodded and went and cleaned up my own area, we had managed to clean up almost the entire garden, if we pushed to finish we wouldn't be able to finish our other work. Asha quickly finished her food and cleaned up and we headed over to the chicken coop, most of the time the chickens left us alone but every so often one would try something. As it so happened today Nettie decided that today was her day to try something, when we entered she flew off her perch squawking and tried to reach my face. Grabbing Asha's arm I twisted us away from the damn bird.

"Now don't you go trying that again, or I swear I will pluck you myself for the dinner pot!" I snarled at the chicken as the bird strutted around like she won the battle and didn't care what I had to say.

I shook my head and headed to the nests on one side while Asha started on the other. Together we collected the eggs from the nests in our baskets until we met up in the middle. By the time we reached each other we were chuckling over the antics of the chickens, though the birds were not overly bright they were entertaining to watch as they scratch the ground and gobbled up their food. Having taken care of all the tasks outside we headed indoors to complete the cleaning before starting dinner.

Dusk came early, and I was in the middle of getting the large pan off the top shelf in the kitchen when the door blew open. An acquaintance of our guardian rushed in like the hounds of hell where after him, he would occasionally check in on us since we were on out own.

"Dante, what is it? What's wrong?" I asked as I quickly got down from the chair and hurried to meet him.

"We don't have much time, quickly get Asha and pack your things; we have to get out of here as soon as possible."

"What is it? What happened?" I asked as I tried to get him to sit in the chair and explain but he refused; instead pulling me along with him as he called out to Asha.

"What is it Dante?" Asha asked as she met us as we left the kitchen.

"I don't have the time needed to explain fully, so please just listen. You both need to gather your things, everything you can manage to carry. We need to make for the Keep, and ask for sanctuary. Once there I will be able to explain everything, so please hurry!"

The urgency and fear in his voice got us moving almost before his finished speaking. Asha and I raced to our rooms and began throwing all our belongings into our trunks; luckily we didn't have much material possessions. We finished quickly just as the sun finished setting; we hurriedly carried our trucks outside to see Dante already waiting with a cart. Loading our trucks in the cart we jumped in and settled in for the trip. Neither of us understood what was going on, but we both knew that Dante would never do anything without a strong reason for it. The night was cool, so we wrapped a blanket around us and racked our minds trying to figure out what was happening. We were following the main road through town in order to head for the Keep. There was much more activity than I have ever seen before in town, there seemed to be many more men and most of those men from what I could tell were Warlord Princes. Something was definitely wrong here, but what did it have to do with us? I thought to myself as I glanced over at Asha. She was busy watching the newcomers, she eyes uncertain and wary.

"What do you think is going on?" She asked in a whisper.

"I don't know, but from what I'm able to pick up they don't feel all that friendly. It's almost as if they are searching for something."

"Do you think it is us that they're looking for?"

"Why would it be us? We've rarely been to town, and it's not as if we did anything to warrant such attention. We don't even wear Jewels!" I hissed the last part because I realized that it was possible that it was us they were looking for, but I didn't know why. Soon after we were through the village without mishap and were on our way to the Keep.

After a few hours we reached the massive building. In the dark it looked every bit as sinister as the stories we heard in town. Apparently the family that runs the place were excessively powerful and frightening. I was the first one to step from the cart, helping down Asha I grabbed my trunk and followed slowly behind Dante as we all made our way to the front door.

"Don't you think we better wait till morning before we go waking everybody up?" I asked with a minor wobble to my voice.

"No we probably don't even have that much time."

I frowned at Dante's back, I wasn't so eager to make the acquaintance of the family in this place but Dante's words worried me more than my misgivings.

"Alright than, I guess we had better knock than." I said bolstering my courage I raised my hand and knocked on the solid door. The sound seemed so very loud in the night, and I could only imagine the echo it created indoors. We didn't have long to wait before the door was opened and a red Jeweled Warlord stood there staring at us.

"I are seeking Sanctuary for these two girls." Dante rushed out to say before the other man could ask us what were doing here in the middle of the night.

"Please, come in." The butler let us move into the foyer and quietly closed the door behind us. The room was softly lit and I must have strained my eyes trying to see into the shadows to see if it was true that hell hounds hid in the dark corners. Seeing no movement and hearing no sound I turned my attention back to the men in the room.

"Your name sir, Ladies"

"Sir Dante Lofrenos of Kiferheed Village and this is Lady Asha, and Lady Kera" He introduced us.

"One moment, I'll see if he is ready for you."

"Thank you."

As the butler moved off down the hallway I turned to Dante.

"Is who ready for us?"

"The person who oversees this place I believe." he answered

"Oh." I said as I walked over to one wall studying the painting, well pretending to study anyway. No way was I going to be able to calm myself enough to actually enjoy the artwork. It wasn't long before the butler came back informing us that the overseer was waiting for us in the office. We left our luggage in the foyer and made our way to the room. The man quietly shut the door behind us once we were in the office and left us with the man sitting behind the large desk. The man had the dark skin, black hair and gold eyes of the Hayllian race. The black hair was silver at the temples and lines had begun to show his age on his face. He sat watching us enter his office, his eyes more focused on Asha and I, which made me want to fidget. He motioned us to take a seat, as he vanished his half mooned glasses and laced his fingers together on top of his desk, his nails were long and black I noticed. Dante remained standing.

"Good evening Prince, I apologize for intruding so late, but it was very important that we come here as soon as possible. My name is Dante Lofrenos of Kiferheed village, and this is Lady Asha, and Lady Kera."

"Good evening to you Sir Lofrenos, Lady Asha and Lady Kera, if you would kindly explain to me what has brought you to the Keep seeking sanctuary we will try and find a suitable solution."

"I hardly know where to start…"

"I find that the beginning is usually the best place."

While Asha and I sat there in the cozy office, Dante told our story, who we were, how he'd met us, how we've been living the past few years. I didn't really pay any attention to that part, since I was intimately aware of what happened so far in my life. It was when he started to explain what had happen earlier today that I perked up and listened.

"I had started noticing a large number of Warlord Princes coming to our little village, at first I didn't think too much of it, than I noticed that they seemed to be looking for something and had started asking questions from the villagers. They had heard of a couple of young Queens that may be living near by. They knew that those young Queens were once kept by one of Dorothea's pet Queens. I became increasingly nervous when the number of men increased, and their searches became more intense. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't protect the girls if they managed to find them, so I went to our only Black Widow, she said that she had been waiting for me and that she knew why I had sought her out. She than told me that we had very little time to leave before the newcomers became aware of the exact location of the Queens and that we must reach the Keep at all costs and as soon as possible." Dante stopped for a moment, seemingly to catch his breath.

I was stunned, and from the look on Asha's face she was too. I was also a little confused, why would Warlord Princes care about us? Since I knew little about the caste, and what little I did know came from rumors and stories told to frighten the local children, I didn't think that the sudden interest in us was a good thing. I glanced up at the man behind the desk, I knew he was part of the same caste and that he was very powerful from his Red Jewel around his neck, he didn't look like he was about to become a slobbering monster only interested sex. I guess I must have stared too hard or something since his eyes locked on mine. I read a touch of amusement and a little irritation in that gaze before I snapped my eyes back on my folded hands on my lap.

"I see, you are all welcome to stay the night. In the morning we will go to Kaeleer, I have been informed that you would be coming here, so rooms have been prepared for you. Your luggage has already been sent to them."

The man rose smoothly to his feet and slowly came around the desk towards the door, his steps were measured like he was trying to hide his slight limp. I watched him move from the corner of my eye, I really didn't want to be caught staring at him again. I liked how he moved; it was fascinating to watch the grace and confidence, like dancing. The fact that he was a nice looking man was an added bonus I guess if I was really interested in that sort of thing. He opened the door as Asha and I rose to our feet to follow our guardian out of the room, keeping my eyes averted but refusing to stare at the ground we filed out of the study. We made our way down hallways and upstairs, and stopped by the first bedroom door.

"Sir Lofrenos, this will be your chamber for the night."

"But…" I touched his arm to stop the rest of Dante's protest.

"It's alright, we're just a little ways farther down the hall, I'm sure there is nothing to be worried about. Plus you can away return in the morning to the village." I spoke as confidently as I could. Asha snorted softly to show how much she believed my outward bluster.

With a stiff nod, he bowed to us than Satan before withdrawing into the room, leaving us with probably one of the scariest men I have ever met. A smile twitched in said man's lips.

"Please tell me you're not actually reading my mind…" I said with a nervous laugh.

"Why would I need to do that when such thoughts are so easily shown on your face? Not to mention you project them so strongly."

Asha chuckled, and patted me on the shoulder. I turned and stuck my tongue out at her before trying to assume a bland expression and faced Satan again.

"Are you feeling ill?" He asked completely straight faced though I could feel his amusement in the air around us.

"No…" sigh "lets just get this over with." One dark brow rose to the resignation in my tone.

"And just what do you think is going to happen now?"

"Well I figure we'd probably start with some probing questions, followed by some demonstration of your strength and for the finale some not so veiled threats."

"Just whom have you been listening to? I would hope it wasn't anyone I know."

"The questions… Well to start off with we grew up with some of the worst bitches I've ever met or hope to ever meet, also just because a lot of the males there didn't want to be serving there didn't mean that all didn't like the work they were sometimes given." I said sourly as I tried the lean causally against the wall putting a stop to our walk to our rooms.

The temperature around us dropped sharply, suppressing a shiver I decided that I've already let my mouth run off, and that there wasn't much more I could damage.

"It was the general way things where done than, more to the people who were foolish enough to get caught doing something or other that they weren't suppose to. Things would get really bad quickly so we were usually smart enough not to stick around long enough to catch the rest of the show. So what other questions do you have?"

"What happened that two promising young queens went from riches to rags?"

My mouth closed with a snap, I stood and grabbed Asha's hand and started to pull her with me farther down the hall.

"I think I'm done with question time now, we are both very tired and would like to go to sleep now, please"

A couple of doors opened a little ways in front of me.

"Good night, Ladies"

I stopped, spun on my heel and curtseyed with a murmured "Thank you" before turning and all but shoving the quiet Asha in one room, than with my head held high I walked into the other room. The door shut quietly behind me, I couldn't help but return to it to see if I was locked in, I breathed a sigh of relief when the handle turned and the door inched open. Closing the door I took my time looking the room over, it was massive! The size of the bed alone was enough for four people or more, it certainly wouldn't ever fit in my room back home. My brain stumbled over the word "home", I probably would never be able to return there. Feeling a little sadden by that loss I walked towards the bed, I really was tired and although sleep will probably never come I had at least better try. My shoulders twitched and I felt the heavy slide of muscle move between them followed by an unusual pain.

"Hush now, I will let you out later, it's too dangerous now." The sensation stopped, probably more due to the dark thoughts of the past rather than anything I had actually said but at least the pain stopped as well. I crawled into the bed after shedding my clothes and slipping on a pair of pajamas I had pulled from my belongings. Turning in it a few times I tried to settle in but still felt too restless, not much later I heard a soft knock on my door, than Asha entered. Without saying anything she crawled into bed and we both settled in and soon were off to sleep.

The morning arrived and we were soon off to the Shadow Realm, Dante had returned to the village and promised he would keep his eye on what was going on there. The Coach was packed and we were off. Our arrival at the Hall was relatively uneventful, after helping Asha out of the Coach I stared at the imposing place; we were expected to stay here? How were we going to survive with all the dark energy pouring off it? I had just resigned myself to at least walking in the place when the doors flew open and a dark haired winged boy came out, his wings beating a hasty pace as if he was flying from something… or someone. The boy screeched when he saw us and changed his course to fly right at us, I made to step away to avoid a collision but instead only managed to catch his attention. His eyes pinned me instantly and he flew right into me. I didn't have time to brace myself properly before the child latched onto me and yelled "Mine". We toppled over; I twisted slightly to land on my back so that the little winged one wouldn't be harmed in the fall the fall cause the pain in my back to flare for a moment before subsiding. Golden eyes peered down at me from the child's face; the look in them told me that I was dealing with a young Warlord Prince in the making. The possessive glint would have been intimidating if it wasn't coming from a person who at best reached my waist.

"Are you alright?" I asked him as I sat up and tried to move him off of me.

"Mine, You be mine." He said stubbornly as he continued to cling to me.

Sitting on the ground I looked up at the shocked face of Asha, but she quickly recovered enough to start laughing. Her laughter was followed by the deep chuckle of Satan as he came around the Coach to see what had happened. I shook my head at their laughter, a smile tugging at my lips at the young boy kept trying to climb up to my neck making sniffing noises. As I tried to at least adjust him more comfortably since he didn't seem inclined to let go anytime soon I noticed that there were other people coming out of the doors at a hurried pace. They slowed to a stop when they saw the scene outside. The group of two males and two females quickly approached us while I gently wrestled with the boy who still was determined to sniff me, making little growling noises every time I shifted him away from my neck. The adult Eyrien man that approached reached out to pull the boy off me, but the boy was determined and started to snarl at the man. The man raised an eyebrow at the sound than he turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry, is he yours? He's very cute; he won't bite me will he? Of course not, he's just being overly affectionate." I rushed out as I tried to help him peel the boy off of me.

We finally managed to pry him off and as the man straightened, the youngster started to throw a tantrum. I got to me feet and dusted myself off and felt at a loss when I realized I missed all the introductions. The man with the crying boy nodded at me and introduced himself as Lucifer; the father of the child who's named turned out to be Daemonar. The other man who so closely resembled Satan was Daemon, the ladies turned out to be Marion and Lady Janelle. When I looked over at Lady Janelle I instantly realized that the person before me was the one Emma always told stories about, Witch. I bowed deeply to the Lady who looked embarrassed by it and told me to stand. The men all looked on with approval in their eyes; after all the introductions were done we began to make our way inside. Deamonar squirmed and growled making his father's grip loosen enough for him to escape and he wasted no time attaching himself to me again.

"Oh dear, I think someone likes you." Marian said covering her smile with one hand.

"It would appear so, he's very affectionate." I said as the boy nuzzled his face against my neck.

Marian gently reclaimed her son with surprisingly minimal fuss.

"You must be getting hungry, breakfast should be served soon."

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

We walked into the dinning room which was indeed ready to serve the food. Taking a seat beside Asha and Saetan, I tried to remember anything I had learned about proper table etiquette, those lessons went right out of my head as the discussion around the table was a relating to Asha's and my situation. Although from the looks of the faces around me, they didn't seem to be at all surprised by the events being told, or of our past. Saetan fielded questions, letting Asha and I eat up the food in front of us. Once we had finished so was the story, the silence following it was a little uncomfortable as several pairs of eyes gazed at us thoughtfully.

"What I'm a little curious about is why neither of you wear any jewels." Jaenelle said lightly.

Setting my napkin carefully on my empty plate I did my best to satisfy her subtle question.

"When we were part of that Queen's idea of a court, the general rule was no potential Queen was to be given any jewel until she had proven herself loyal to the ruling Queen, and we were in no way willing to do that. After we were freed, it wasn't something we thought was important in fact we thought it would be a lot safer for us if we didn't have them, especially with all the fighting with the ladens."

"I can understand that, I guess, but what about since the fighting died down?"

I shrugged, "It wasn't important to us. We were content just doing what we were doing. It was a lot easier to hide without them."

The silence at the table was uncomfortable for a minute.

"Would you make the Offering now since the fighting has dwindled?"

"Honestly, I don't know." I said as I glanced at Asha "we wouldn't even know what to do let alone what we do once it's done. We have no real desire to rule anyone, I guess in a way we are afraid of how we would turn out to be, our examples aren't very comforting."

"Well maybe we can change your mind." Jaenelle said with a smile

I just returned her smile, I didn't want to tell her that it would be hard to change our minds but let her try her best. Who knows, maybe she might actually succeed. The meal was quick and delicious, and I was left with wondering what we were going to do for the rest of the day. Of course the fact that I was seated at a table with three very powerful Warlord Princes was severely unnerving. Asha seemed almost as nervous as I was and we caught each other's eye a few times. After sharing a wobbly smile I felt like I was being watched, when I turned my head I saw three pairs of golden eyes watching me. I blinked my eyes and the gazes moved off.

"Just ignore them; you'll get use to them eventually." Jaenelle said as she happily drank her cup of coffee.

"That is an excellent idea, why don't the girls spend some time with Lucivar and Daemon. It would be the perfect way for them to get a better understanding of our particular caste." Saetan said with a smile that made his eye glint mischievously. There appeared to be a quick silent conversation between the males and Jaenelle.

"Oh… I don't want to impose on their time, I'm sure they are both really busy people…" My voice trailed off as everyone started to rise from the table having already reached a decision. And a conclusion to whatever they had been discussing between them.

"Why don't we have Asha go with Lucivar and Akiera with Daemon and we can all come back together for dinner." Jaenelle said with a smile that echoed the same mischievousness as Saetan's.

Scrambling out of our seats we rose with them as we watched Jaenelle leave the room a grin from ear to ear on her face.

Turning to face the males left behind with us, I took a deep breath and just tried to calm my nerves somewhat and I could see Asha doing the same. With a shake of his head Daemon turned and headed toward the door I following behind him about six feet back, that way I felt pretty confident that I could get away if I had to. I also enjoyed the view of him walking; it was something amazing to see. I probably could have enjoyed the view for a while since I had never met anyone who walked like a cat before. Most of the time when I saw males trying to pull it off they looked way to uncomfortable, like they had something up their asses. I covered my mouth with my hand to help swallow the giggle that wanted to come out, which earned me a glace of the shoulder by the gloomy male in front of me. Taking several turns we came to an office, once inside the door closed behind me, I jumped a little as Prince Daemon walked to his desk and sat down. His gaze rested on me while I stood by the closed door nervously shifting weight between my feet. If I were to guess I would say he wasn't all that happy with this arrangement, and was just dealing with it since it was a request from Witch.

"You might as well sit down, I've got some work to do that will keep me busy for a few hours but there's a bookshelf over by the chair if you like to read." His voice was smooth and without infliction, like he was trying very hard not to convey anything in his tone other than information.

I turned to look and after taking a fortifying breathe walked over to the shelf which made my back feel exposed to the obviously unhappy male at the desk; it was packed with all sorts of books, without paying a lot of attention I grabbed a random book off the shelf and quickly sat on the chair, perching on the edge in case I had to move quickly. When I hazard a glance at the man I was relieved to see that he was busy writing something on a some papers. Releasing my breath quietly, I glanced at the book sitting in my lap that I had chosen. I should have been paying more attention to what I was pulling off the shelf. I just had to pull of one of _these_ types of books. Mentally sighing to myself I decide that I might as well see what all the hype was about. With one more quick glace at the now supposedly engrossed male I settled a little more comfortably and opened to the first page, and began the process of what promised to be a painfully long session of completely idiocy.

By the time I reached the third chapter in the book I was convinced that whoever wrote this book was an idiot not that I really held out any hold of him being otherwise but I was willing to be surprised. I mean who in the right mind hides a body in a closet? Could they not have been more imaginative?

"I take it you don't agree with the author?" a deep male voice snapped me out of my mental rant and in surprise I dropped the book.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said as I quickly picked up the book, brushing any dust that might have landed on it in my carelessness. Still caught up in the metal lecture it began to spill from my mouth, "I can't believe what a fool he is, I mean his concepts of how the Blood work and what they do is so far off I wouldn't know who he was talking about if he hadn't told me. I was locked up most of my life and I still know more about the Blood than this man does!" I huffed a little at the end of my tirade. The damn writer was a fool!

Prince Daemon laughed softly; he had a very nice laugh I thought as I realized I had said so much out loud. I felt a cold chill go down my spine when I realized I hadn't been at all respectful, but I was praying that the fact that he was laughing meant that he wasn't about to kill me for my disrespect.

"Your not going to become a crazed raving monster, are you?" I asked before I could stop myself. I thought I was over saying whatever popped into my head, what the hell was wrong with me, did I want to die?

"I'm not in the habit of becoming a raving monster unless you've done something to earn it, even than I would hardly call it raving."

"Um… what would one have to do to have earned it?"

"I'll be sure to let you know."

"That's so comforting." I muttered under my breath than placed my hand over my mouth as my eyes widened, damnit I'm in trouble.

"You really should learn to better control your emotions, the scent of your fear is quite strong. Why are you so nervous? I've haven't given you any reason to be afraid."

I looked away from his face and toward the wall opposite of me.

"It's not what you have or haven't done; it's about what you are."

"Please explain."

His voice had dropped an octave and a sensual purr could be heard. I wasn't completely immune to the effect it had on my body, I wanted to answer him from just the sound of his voice. But even as my body responded to him my mind screamed to run, the conflicting struggle caused my body to become numb. I scrambled to erect defenses I hadn't needed to use since I've been free to separate myself from the power he so easily weilded. When I felt confident that I could answer of my own free will, I glanced at him and noted the slight glazing of his eyes, not a good sign so I chose my next words with care.

"We didn't see a lot of the Warlord Princes at court, but the odd time we did come across them, they weren't… how should I say it…pleasant. Not that I can really blame them all that much most we saw were in poor shape, I think I would too be a monster if I had to endure what they went through but those encounters stayed with me and probably Asha as well. Not that all of them were totally against they stuff they were told to do, some even quite enjoyed themselves. After we were free we did our best to avoid any and all possible interaction with the Caste, we didn't see many of the ones that were in the Court but we really didn't want to run into the chance that one of them survived somehow. It tends to leave a lasting impression."

He didn't say anything just leaned back in his chair, his eyes clearing up and were normal by the time he settled back in his chair. I ignored the swirling emotions and the seductiveness of his psychic scent. The males at Court would use the same strategy with the females always trying to get into favor with whoever was best suited to further their standing. Asha and I may not wear Jewels but we came up with our own counter for such measures. When I didn't respond to his scent a small frown crossed his face but was gone quickly.

"I know you are probably only trying to help me keep calm with all this swirling dark mojo but your only going to make it worse. And in case you were wondering about my lack of response it's not that I don't respond it's the fact that I can turn my body numb and cancel out most of the responses, but the drawback of that is I can't physically defend as well."

The energy stopped and his scent lightened. He put in a great effort to control his obvious instinctive reaction. Taking the same time I carefully unwove the numbing weave I had mental slammed myself in, I knew I was going to be sore tomorrow from it. Getting up slowly I uncurled my arm from around the book I had shielding my chest and placed it back on the shelf, being careful to make sure I could keep an eye on him. I stayed standing and close to the door.

"It's not that I don't find you incredibly handsome, it's more like my instincts telling me that in this case it would be safer for my health not to think too much of it. I mean no offense and hope you don't take any but I can never really trust such unpredictability"

His relaxed posture didn't change but it seemed to be more honest now like he had come to some conclusion about how to proceed from here. He stood up slowly and came around to the book shelf and selected a book off second shelf. Standing so close to me I could feel the heat off his skin and could practically touch the dark energy he held so close to his skin. He was careful though not to actually make any contact, which I mentally thanked him for since I was convinced it probably would cause me heart failure.

"Here, try reading this one, you might find it as entertaining as the last one."

I gingerly took the book he held out to me,

"It's by the same person?"

"Unfortunately."

"Does he ever get it right?"

"No."

I sighed and turned to go back to the chair, controlling the need to make a dash for it by sheer willpower.

He causally moved back to his desk and continued on with his paperwork and left me sitting in the chair wondering what was going on in his mind. With a small shake of my head I decided it was best if I put that out of my head and read the book, at least it would be a distraction.

Once again settling on the chair I curled up my legs under me and opened to book. Right from the first page the book proved to be just as bad as the other one, except one part in it… I swear I could feel my face getting hot from embarrassment. He did this on purpose! He knew I would come across this section and he gave it to me anyway! Never mind that what it was describing sounded more like a server injury of some kind and not at all erotic as he was obviously trying to pull off. Deciding that it must be more of an injury I went back to the book shelf, I could have sworn there was a book on medicine here somewhere.

"What are you looking for?"

"Well there's obviously something very wrong with the main character in this story and I knew I saw a medical book here on the shelf somewhere. I wonder what it is that's wrong with him and if there was a way to make it better. Asha would really be a better person to be doing it but I figure I could at least have a look."

"There is nothing wrong with the person."

"But…You can't be suggesting that he considers this erotic?"

"The author was a fool, he had no idea what he was talking about and his use of the written word was lacking to say the least."

"Oh… well than what an embarrassing thing to happen than in the middle of…" I trailed off as my embarrassment hit me like a ton of bricks. Why am I discussing this with him?

"Since I've now finished the morning paperwork, why don't we step outside for some fresh air?"

"I think you have a very good idea there, yes I think a nice walk is just what I need right now." I said as I tried to hide my embarrassment.

_Chapter 3_

The weather outside was pleasant for this time of year, not too warm. I raced outside and stood enjoying the wonderful breeze letting it cool the heat out of my cheeks before looking around. Being outside allowed me to relax a little, an open space always made me feel better. My back ached as I stretched, and Prince Daemon strolled down the steps and stopped waiting for me to come down and than proceeded to lead me around the side of the building. Hearing voices from the far side of the building I decided to check it out. Walking with the Price was a bit interesting since we couldn't seem to decide on who should lead who, but that quandary was soon put aside as I came to the training field. It was fairly obvious what it was since it was currently being used as such.

The males on it were engaged in all forms of combative techniques, most of the noise I was hearing was coming from these men, and the rest of it was coming from one man. Lucivar was prowling the field yelling at some people and shoving at others. I watched him for a moment before looking for my friend, and I saw her at the edge of the field. She was holding some sort of weapon; I couldn't make out what it was from where I was standing, but from the look of it; it could be a pole of some sort but having now found her I started over to her. I don't recall ever having seen her with a weapon before; she was more at home tending a garden or patching me up when I did something foolish.

"What are you doing with that?" I asked as I came up to her

"I don't know, I'm supposed to learn how to defend myself according to him." She pointed to Lucivar.

"How exactly are you supposed to learn that when it's weight along is knocking you off balance?"

She shrugged in response, she gazing turning to the worked up Warlord Prince now heading our way. Lucivar could only be described as being preceded by his arrogance, which could knock back anyone foolish enough to get in his way. How anyone can be that confident was beyond me. Speaking of which why wasn't I running?

"You're not holding it right!" He grabbed the staff like weapon from her hand and demonstrated the proper hold and stance.

Asha just stared at me, the look suggesting that she was waiting for me to step in and save her from the situation. Giving my head a small shake I held out my hand for the staff and waited for Lucivar to drop it into my hands, "Like this than" I said as started in the same stance he held but than I felt like that wasn't quite right for me so I began to slowly twirl the staff stepping back away from the others as I got the feel for the weight of the weapon. There was something familiar about the feel of the wood and the rhythm of the circles. It seemed almost comforting and I just went with the feeling, unleashing the urge to find out where it took me.

The circles came faster, the patterns began to emerge, and soon it was almost as if I had been using this staff my whole life, it felt like I was dancing, the steps just coming to me as I moved, invisible foes fell beneath my strikes. I had completely forgotten that I had an audience, and that group was starting to grow. It wasn't until I heard someone cough that I realized that something was off.

As I became aware of what I was doing, the staff fell from my fingers and landed with a dull thud on the ground barely missing my own toes. The sound to me seemed overly loud in what was supposed to be a crowded practice field. When I looked up from where it had fallen every one on the field was staring at me, even Asha.

"I did something strange, didn't I?" I asked as I stared at Asha's surprised face.

"I would say just a little strange…" Asha tried to smile and it came out as more of a grimace.

I glanced briefly at the two powerful Warlord Princes, and found that instead of surprise and shock that was reflected on everyone else's face; theirs reflected only speculation. With all the attention directed at me, I was starting to feel more uncomfortable, and my skin began to feel like it crawling. Dipping down I picked the staff back up and shoved it at Lucivar, before taking a step back and whirling away to head back to the house. I tried to ignore the stares that followed me as I walked steadily away from the field. I had just barely reached the end of the feild when I felt a person behind me, and when I glanced out of the corner of my eye; it turns out to be Lucivar.

"Just where do you think your going? And where did you learn that? I have never seen anything like it before."

I turned around slowly and faced him though I couldn't quite meet his probing gaze.

"Honestly? I don't know, it had just felt so familiar to me. Almost as if I had been doing it for years and years, but that's not possible."

"We're not finished on the field so get yourself back out there."

"No."

"I wasn't exactly asking."

"Fine!" I snarled softly as I turned on my heel and stomped back out to the field where I spent that next few hours running through routines and a small arsenal of weapons. I was please to know that I didn't seem to have the creepy knowledge of the other weapons as I did to the staff.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 4_

Having spent most of my mornings in the field of hell, I looked forward to spending my afternoons curled up in bed and hiding from Luciver. Who, at this point, has decided that since my skills with the long distance weapons weren't nearly as strong as my skill with the staff that I needed to be working on improving said lacking skills in order to become a well rounded warrior. Personally I would like to know who said I wanted to be one in the first place. One particular morning after a yet another grueling few hours spent on the damn field I stopped by a water basin to grab a drink and to wash up when it actually struck me that we've been here for a few weeks already and still no one had mention how long we may be staying for. As far as I knew no one had heard any news from our town so I had just assumed it wasn't safe yet to return but I thought I better hold my tongue for a little longer. Once all the dirt and sweat was washed off I patted myself off with a towel before heading in for something to eat for lunch.

The room was relatively quiet as I approached, but I quickly realized that it was far from empty.

"I'm glad to see you are still standing after another morning spent with Luciver." Saetan said as he paused drinking.

"I too am glad I'm still standing. The true test will come in the morning as to whether or not I will be able to get out of bed." I smiled slightly as I sat down across from him. I settled comfortably in my seat and a plate heaping with an assortment of fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses and meats appeared before me. I was so surprised I had to blink a few time to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

"Well… umm thank you." I said to no one in particular.

"Your welcome" Saetan answered "I don't believe I have ever seen anyone with your exact coloring before, it is quite unusual, do you know from which race you descend from?"

I paused in the act of taking a bite, and put it back down on my plate. I didn't really feel all that comfortable meeting his eye for long so I settled my gaze at his shoulder. His question also had an impact on my appetite; I wasn't nearly as hungry as I was a few minutes ago.

"I don't know anything about my past, or who my parent were or even what race I might be. All I know is the story I was told since I can remember, and that was simply that Asha and me were abandoned when we were infants and that we should be grateful we weren't left out in to woods to die." I took a bite of the sandwich I had created while I had been talking, and tried to relax the muscles in my shoulders and back.

"Hmm… Well we can discuss that later, but right now I had been waiting to ask you about what your plans were from this point on."

"Plans? We had only wanted to live quietly in our home and be left alone; since that doesn't seem to be an option anymore I guess we'd have to think of something but I'm not sure what yet,"

"May I make a suggestion; there is a Queen who may be interested in giving you two Ladies a better understanding of how Queens in the Light realm should have ruled."

"So it would be like going to class?"

"In some ways, yes; in others, no I would have to talk to her to see if she will be willing to accept you two as charges."

"I see, well seeing as how there isn't much else for us to do I guess it would be a better solution than whatever else I might come up with."

"If that's the case than the both of you will need to go shopping this afternoon."

"Shopping? What for?"

"You two will need a wardrobe more suited to being Queens than ladens."

"What's wrong with being laden?" My voice dripped with ice, in my opinion there was nothing wrong with looking or being laden; they did just as much if not more for the land and people than Blood did. Saetan smiled, but his eyes showed approval rather than contempt like I thought would be there after that comment but it looked like I was only being tested.

"What's wrong with what we do have? It's not as if it's a guarantee that we will be ruling Queens, and our clothes are serviceable for what we will be doing."

"Indulge and old man?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Usually that saying is spoken by a feeble old man who wants someone to do something for them; and while I can't argue your age I can sure as hell can argue the feeble part."

Saetan laughed, the sound carrying throughout the room and probably beyond. It made me smile in response, he was scary there was no doubt about that but it was nice to see a side that wasn't going to give me nightmares at night.

I figured I would make a quick getaway before we had to get all serious again and as I stood back up several muscles throughout my body protested heavily. I must have winced or something because the rich sound died and I was being watched again with those keen knowing golden eyes.

"Sore already?

"There's no "already" about it, I'll just go and stretch out some more maybe that will make them more cooperative." I left out the part that my back aching had little to do with the morning's workout. I was running out of time, the pain was increasing and I wouldn't be able to keep them hidden much longer without a serious risk of infection; if it wasn't already too late.

"I've asked Price Rainier to serve as escort for you two to shopping this afternoon after your done stretching."

"As you wish." I said as I quickly made a dignified retreat.

Once in my room I shut the door behind me turning the lock I took a couple of deep breathes and stretched my arms over my head and twisted from side to side trying to alleviate some of the pain coursing down my spine. Walking to the center of the room where a large rug dominated most of the space I settled on the floor once comfortable I stooped to stretch out my calf muscles when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, freezing mid motion I turned my head to see what had caught my attention. A very large white blob was laid out on my bed; said blob was also covered in black stripes and was apparently breathing. Moving slowly, my muscle pain forgotten as adrenaline coursed through my system I flatten myself on the floor and crawled to the foot of the bed.

Placing my hands gently on the mattress for support I started to peer over the edge. When I met a pair of large ice blue eyes I froze, my throat constricted over the scream that bubbled up. The eyes belonged to the white blob but as it turns out the white blob was in fact a white tiger, a tiger that was staring straight at me.

"Please don't eat me" my voice was little more than a whispered whimper as those big blue eyes blinked at me.

I could feel my whole body go cold as the cat stood up and stretched lazily before planting its large white butt back on my bed. As it continued to stare at me I swore I could almost hear a voice in the back of my head, one that seemed too far away to actually make out any words it was saying. The expression on the cats face altered as I continued to stare at it to one of impatience; I was almost surprised to note that the cat had expression at all. The voice persisted annoyingly until I just couldn't take being pulled in two directions anymore.

_*__What?* _

_*__So now you hear me? Good I was beginning to believe you were broken*_

_*__Broken? Wait a minute… you're not my subconscious or something trying to give me advice, are you?*_

_*__I am not a "sub" anything, and I have much advice I can give you like now; there is nothing to fear right now so there is no need for your fear; your fear scent is overpowering your natural scent which I was enjoying*_

The massive cat lowered itself back to laying on the bed and stuffed its large head in the blankets seemingly to be trying to block out the scent of my fear. A burst of outrage bubbled through me at its words.

"Are you telling me I stink?"

_*__Yes, but I like it*_

"I do not stink!" I growled at the damn cat, he may be big and scary but he had no right to suggest that I stink!

_*__Much better smell now*_

It than dawned on me that I was actually talking to the cat like I would a person except his responses resonated in my head; my brain must have seriously been addled if I was just figuring that out now.

"Your one of the kindred, aren't you?"

_*__Yes, little Queen cub*_

"So you have no desire to eat me?"

_*__Humans not very tasty, I like little Queen cub*_

"Oh… what is your name?"

_*Kasmau*_

"Really? That's a nice name do you mind if I get off the floor now?"

_*Why are you on the floor?*_

"Stretching" I said as I dragged myself off the floor, still sore but I think the quick adrenaline rush help with that somewhat.

_*You were not doing it right than*_

"I think I was doing alright, wasn't done though." I had just gotten to my feet when I heard a yelp from the next room and than running feet. Asha burst into my room looking like the hounds were after her.

"Asha, what's wrong?"

"There's… a wolf… in…my room."

"What? How did one get in your room?"

*I let him in.*

"Oh its okay than… Wait! You let him in, why?" I stared at the cat for a minute before turning back to Asha who had just noticed the cat herself. I didn't think her eyes could have gotten bigger.

"Kera…you have a really big tiger lying on your bed."

"Yes I had noticed him when I came back from the field to stretch."

"Okay, just thought I would point it out to you." Asha slumped down to the floor looking completely dazed.

"You are going to be alright there, my friend?"

"Yeah no problem here, I'll just go get the wolf from my room."

Asha didn't appear to be moving very quickly to do that or much of anything at the moment. That appeared to be okay since said wolf came walking into my room as well; he was a big one too. His coat was shinny russet red, and he appeared to be still growing if the slightly disproportionate limb ratio was anything to go by. He walked right over to Asha and sat beside her as she sat there staring at him.

_*Is yours broken too?*_

_*No, maybe yours just needs more training?*_

"Who needs more training?" I asked although I had a suspicion I knew what they were referring to.

The wolf seemed to smile at me or at least that's the impression I got from him.

_*Can you teach her to hear me?*_

"She can't hear you?" I asked and the wolf nodded.

"Kera… who are you talking to?" Asha asked as she started to look at me like I had finally lost my mind.

"You remember the stories we use to hear about the Kindred? Well these two here are Kindred, and he has been trying to talk to you." I answered gesturing at the wolf by her side.

"Talk to me? How? I thought they were just stories."

"It's more like they share their words mentally; think of it as hearing a voice from far away concentrate on it so that you can bring it closer. Does that help?"

"A voice from far away? Would it be why it almost feels like my ears are ringing?"

"I guess, try it."

Asha tilted her head as if she really was trying to hear a far away voice. The look of shock and surprise on her face told me she could finally hear him now.

"Oh my, I guess they weren't just stories after all, so they really have no intention of eating us?"

"I just finished having that discussion with Prince Kasmau…" I paused as something just sunk into my brain. I turned and looked at the cat still lying on my bed. Around his neck was a pendant with a Jewel with a flash of Green. The psychic scent coming from both the wolf and him told me to which caste the both males belong to.

"Kera are you okay? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine, but I think I will join you on the floor since it looks steadier than me." I said as I settled on the floor right in front of her, the wolf moved out of the way a little to allow me more breathing space.

"Mind telling me what thought seems to have knocked you off your feet?" She asked looking wary

"I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion I did when you have given a few things some more thought."

"This tells me absolutely nothing."

I would probably have laughed at that point but instead I decided to change to a different, safer topic. I Turned to the wolf now sitting closer to the bed.

"I'm sorry I forgot to ask what your name was."

*_I'm Arial.*_

"I've never heard that name before, but it sounds almost musical." I said as I happen to notice the Blue Jewel he wore around his neck.

Kasmau and Arials' heads came up as if they were listening to someone calling, than they both looked at us sitting on the floor.

_*Your being called.*_

"How come we don't hear anything?" Asha asked

_*You don't wear Jewels and the voice is too dark for you to hear*_

"Oh" I said as I slowly climbed to my feet, Asha grabbed my arm and pulled herself to her feet.

"I think we ran out of time, hiding in our rooms no longer seems to be a viable option."

"But they're taking us shopping…" Asha said

"We've been through worse than shopping in our lives, I'm sure a couple of hours won't kill us."

_*We're going with you*_ Arial said as he walked towards the door followed by Kasmau.

"Won't you start a panic if people saw you?"

_*We won't be seen*_ Kasmau said as he passed through the door.

"Wow… that could come in handy."

Arial waited for us and left the room behind us and we all made our way back to the dinning hall to meet up with our afternoon escort.

My first though as we met our escort was; Oh no not another one, but I quickly realized that this Warlord Price was a little different from the ones I normally saw. There was something about him that made me feel as though he was no threat to me on a certain level, not that he couldn't cause some damage since he was an Opal. While I tried to work out this certain puzzle introductions were made and protocol was followed, it wasn't until we were actually leaving that it dawned on me as to why he felt different. I looked up and Jaenelle was smiling at me and put her finger to her lips. I smiled back and nodded, if she wanted it to remain something not talked about I wasn't going to blurt it out.

Almost six hours later I was ready to cause somebody some bodily harm. I could not get over the amount of clothing that was apparently required; I probably wouldn't wear half of it. Thankfully not all of it was dresses and or formal wear, there was an outfit or two that I could actually work in without worrying about tearing or getting dirty. Asha appeared to be having as much difficulty with comprehension as I was, I was exhausted, sore and getting irritated by the time we had finished and started back from town. Prince Rainier was probably the only calming influence at the moment, Prince Kasmau and Prince Arial weren't nearly so comforting. I think in fact they were quite the instigators for my irritation. Between their opinions for fabrics, colors, and design I was ready just to storm out of the poor lady's shop. They were quiet at the moment only because both Asha and I had threatened to never talk to them again if they weren't quiet on the way back. Once back in the Hall we thank Rainier for the time and effort on his part and that we were sorry if we were a bit much to handle. He seemed a little ruffled around the edges and his limp had become more pronounced as we had entered the door. I frowned and pulled out a trinket that Asha had given me earlier for my back, it had helped keep the pain at bay, walking by him I slipped it into his pocket and grabbed Asha's arm and curtseyed to the surprised Warlord Prince before making a rushed exit.

I pulled Asha into my room and closed the door behind us, inside the room all our purchases were neatly piled on top of the bed. We both sighed deeply and just stood by the door for a moment.

"I'll make you a deal; I'll help you put your stuff away if you help me with mine."

"Sounds like a good idea, how's your… back doing?"

"Truthfully? I'm starting to worry but there isn't much I can do about it at the moment."

"I'm sure the people here wouldn't have a problem with your…"

"Sh! It's not really about whether or not they would have a problem with it, it's the fact that we barely know them and it's obvious they expect something from us."

"You have to learn to trust people Kera, you can't stay all bound up and afraid."

"I'm not afraid, I'm just cautious."

"So that's what it's being called now…"

"Being cautious has helped us to stay alive till now; why wouldn't it continue to work?"

"Because people must learn to change as their world changes, otherwise they will perish."

"Aren't you being a little melodramatic?'

Asha just shrugged than smiled at me as we continue to put things away. As promised I helped her put things away after mine was finished. We both were laid out on her bed as we contemplated leaving the room.

"We have to leave the room to go to dinner."

"Do we have to wear something in particular?"

"I don't know about you but I think what I have on is just fine." I said as I sat up.

"Fine but if they say something, I'm blaming you."

"Of course."

We laughed as we left Asha's room and stepped out of her room; in the hallway Kasmau and Arial were waiting patiently for us looking a little lost.

"When we have to go shopping for human things it helps that we just have to accept that not all things us humans do makes sense" I said as I reached out and rubbed my hand on Kasmau's shoulder.

Both of them perked up and happily followed us down to dinner. Everyone was waiting for us as we walked in, and as we were the last to enter all eyes turned to us. Running my hands down my shirt I smoothed out the slight rumpling cause by lying on the bed for so long and gave a hesitant smile. Asha patted her hair down behind me and offered a smile as well. Luckily no one said anything about our clothing which consisted of a pair of pants and a plain white work shirt. Prince Rainier had also joined us for dinner and another lady sat by his side; I thought I heard her name was Surreal. There was an air around her the heavily suggested that staying on her good side would be the healthiest option.

"Sorry we're late." I said as I moved to take my seat moving the chair slightly more away from the others at the table.

"You're right on time actually." Jaenelle said with a smile as everyone took their seats.

"So how was your trip to town?" Saetan asked with a small smile.

"Well it was okay I guess" Asha answered as she started to nibble the food on her plate.

"Prince Rainier was just telling us about Prince Kasmau and Prince Arial's taste of clothing."

I couldn't stop the blush that stained my cheeks, they had thought it better to go either naked or with as small coverings as possible so clothing wouldn't hamper movement. There was also some mention of our builds and how we could improve Prince Rainier coughed but the others at the table openly laughed, Asha and I both stared at everyone our faces awash with color.

"Yes well it's not exactly easy having to explain clothing and why we wear it."

The chuckling continued for a few more minutes. Than as it drifted away Jaenelle focused on us again

"I've spoken with a Queen in Terreille she is willing to take you both on as charges for the next several months if your agreeable?"

Both Asha and I were surprised, we had become almost comfortable here among these people and were actually hoping that if we couldn't stay that maybe we could go home, but I didn't think it was Jaenelle speaking so much as Witch; and saying no to her is impossible.

"Sounds like an adventure, who is the Queen you found?"

"Her name is Cassidy."

"I think I've heard something about her around town, people are happy she came and is helping. When will we be leaving?"

"In the next couple of days, we have to make some final arrangements before you leave, also just so you will feel more comfortable Prince Luciver will be visiting on occasion to see how you are getting on with everything there."

I didn't know what to say to that so I just smiled and nodded, I couldn't tell if Luciver was happy about it or not since he seemed more interested in the food in front of him than looking at us. Asha looked to be a little worried and confused, she didn't like being thrown into new situation without more advance knowledge. I was filled more with anxiety than with confusion, I had a lot of good thing about this Queen but the thing that got me concerned was the fact that most of her Court was made up of males, and Warlord Princes at that. Spending time here with the people here wasn't so bad; sure they were scary sometimes but they weren't unfair or particularly cruel. Of course we hadn't done anything to incite their anger so we felt more confident being around them. But to be thrown into such a large group of such a Caste didn't sit too well with me and I could only imagine how Asha would feel about that. There was also that fact that all of those males would be wearing Jewels and wouldn't have to physically touch us to cause harm, and they would likely trust us as much as we them if at all once they realize where we grew up.

Talk around the table had turned to current news from Cassidy and her court as well as our upcoming departure. I didn't pay all that much attention to it I was more concerned about what we should do. There was no way I could go into that situation without being as prepared as possible, but what could we do to level the playing field more? It dawned on me like a shot of lightning; if we wore jewels wouldn't that help even things out and why didn't I think of it sooner? My heart seized a little with the old fear that came with such thoughts, but hadn't Asha just told me that we must learn to adapt or perish? On top of the fear a new and very different emotion began to emerge, and it felt strangely like excitement. This could either be a very good thing or a terrible nightmare.

After dinner was finished and Asha and myself went up stairs to discuss that idea that had come to me during the meal, the others stayed at the table to continue on their own discussion.

"Are you sure this is the best course of action for them right now?" Luciver asked of Jaenelle.

"The web I spun pointed out two very different outcomes, and whichever one they follow with determine the future of Terreille. If that realm is every to fully recover those two need to follow the right path."

"Are you sure it's okay with Cassidy that they join as her charges? They may not wear jewels now but in order to fulfill their fates wouldn't they end up with jewels on the darker side than Cassidy's?" Deamon asked

"They will wear very dark jewels, there is no doubt about that. As for it being okay with Cassidy, she was happy to be able to be an influencing teacher for them. Plus since they've been here have any of you seen or heard anything that would lead you to believe that they would cause harm to her or hers?"

The men all seemed to give that question some serious thought before Luciver responded.

"No, aside from their initial shyness and reserved nature they seem to be very well behaved. But I will say this; they are hiding something whether or not its something dangerous I don't know."

"Their secret wouldn't stay in the dark for much longer, and I wouldn't be too worried about it but I do need to get things prepared for it though."

"Prepared for what?" Saetan asked

"That is a secret, just wait a little longer and you'll understand." Jaenelle smiled, "They've done very well to get this far in life without being found out, one a Queen and a Healer the other a Queen and a natural Black Widow."

"You're not serious…" Surreal said as she stared at Jaenelle's face.

"They are like a blank canvas; all it takes is the right artist to make it come alive."

"So which one is which?" Prince Rainier asked

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already, Asha is a natural healer she's the one that gave Kera the healing trinket. She did very well for not having formal training in that field, but the one I'm most concerned about is Kera. Being a natural Black Widow I wonder how she got this far without any training."

Jaenelle had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing at the looks on the faces of her family. It appeared that none of them had been able to see under the illusion the two young Queens had created.

"Kera's snake tooth should be emerging if it hasn't already; she'll need to be taught how to milk it properly before she goes. I will get copies of some healing books made for Asha before she goes…" Jaenelle thought out loud.

"Should we be concerned about the fact that they do not wear even a birthright jewel?" Saetan asked.

"No, they will find their way through that obstacle on their own; I just wouldn't expect them to be in the field tomorrow morning for their regular training…"

"Are you serious?" Asha asked me as I explained my idea to her as we sat on my bed. Kasmau and Arial had gone out to give us some privacy to talk plus they wanted to do some hunting.

"Look, it makes the most sense. We are going to be going back to Terreille to a place we aren't familiar with surrounded by people who are not only male but of the most volitile caste and they will most definetly know how to use their jewels."

"I know, and it makes sense but it's something we never wanted to do in the first place."

"My heart practically skipped a beat when I first thought about it, but the more I think about it the more I believe it is the right thing to do."

"When do you think we should do it?"

"As soon as possible, I was hoping tonight."

"So soon?"

"If we wait there's a bigger chance we'll never work up the courage to do it, and than where will we be?"

"Okay, okay so how exactly do we do the ceremony anyway?"

"We'll have to sneak out for a while; it could take most of the night. Luciver isn't going to be happy with our slopping performance in the morning than."

"Okay let's get out of here before I come to my senses."

All I had to go on were the stories our nanny had told us long ago as bedtime stories. I was just praying that we get through the night alright, and as we slipped out through the garden I glanced back and could have sworn I saw Witch watching us leave, but when I blinked the image was gone.

When morning came, we slipped back into my room, exhausted, cold and mentally drained. My massive bed was already occupied by Kasmau and Arial but they made room for us when they saw us come in. It was a snug fit with a 500lbs cat and an almost adult wolf, but it was kind of nice too. The bed was warm and the mattress soft, it was like being cocooned in security.

"Kasmau?"

_*What is it, Queen cub?*_

"If Luciver comes knocking, would you be so kind as to tell him he can dump himself in the water tough today?"

_*I will __tell him*_

"Thank you… and thank you for waiting for us, it's nice to have someone to come back to."

_*Sleep well Queen cub*_

I drifted off to sleep, a small smile on my lips, we may not have been overly traditional but we were successful. I wonder what the other would have to say…

It wasn't till almost midday when we woke up, and even than it was a struggle. My eyes felt like they weighted a ton, but I managed to pry them open and even prop myself up in bed. Asha just laid there blinking up at me than smiled.

"I still can't believe we actually went through with it."

"I know."

I clutched the hanging pouch around my neck, Asha held hers in her hand; inside the bags were our new jewels. It had taken hours to get to this point but now that we had reached it we couldn't believe we were actually successful. I pulled the string from around my neck and pulled open the bag, holding me hand out I emptied the stones into my hands. The nine stones were a mix of cut and uncut; the cut ones would be perfect for a necklace and the three uncut for ring settings. The biggest surprise to me was the fact they were all Ebon-grey; Asha pulled hers out and there was no mistaking them; six Grey.

"Do you think the powers that be made a mistake?"

"If they did, it was a big one."

"What do we do with them now?"

"I guess learn to use them, but first I think we had better get them set in something."

A knock at the door made us both jump, and we briefly scrambled to collect our dropped stones and put them back in our pouches. Stuffing the pouches down our shirts we were just in time as Jaenelle walked in through the door, and I mean walked through the closed bedroom door.

"Good afternoon, sleep well?" the smile on her face told me that she knew what we did.

"it was eventful..." I said as she climbed onto the bed with us and held out her hand.

I took my pouch out and handed it over, as did Asha. She didn't even look inside but just seemed to get a feel for what's inside by judging the weight.

"We should get these set, I think I have the perfect setting in mind too." She laughed and bounced off the bed and walked back towards the door.

"Bernard is a genius with jewelry."

We crawled out of bed and got changed into some cleaner clothes, than met up with Jaenelle at the front door, Daemon was with her and it appeared as if he too would be joining us. His gaze met us as we approached and he actually smiled when he saw us,

"Luciver is going to have his hands full."

For a moment I wondered what he was talking about, but than it came to me, I was now the same jewel rank as Luciver. That meant I didn't have to put up with getting my butt handed to me in the mornings anymore! I could just stick to what I do know how to do and could tell him to shove the other training up his arse. I could stop whenever I wanted to take a break and there was nothing he could do about it now! I sighed, who was I kidding? When it comes to Luciver; jewel rank didn't seem to matter in the least.

In the shop the atmosphere was nice, not chaotic like at the dress place, that might have been because Kasmau and Arial hadn't joined us today. Which I found surprising, they were always close by before, I guess we'll just meet up with them later.

"If you're wondering about Prince Kasmau and Arial, they are spending the next couple of days with Kaelas and Ladvarian picking up the finer points of Protocol from a Kindred point of view." Jaenelle said as she stood at the counter waiting for us to join her.

"You didn't read my mind, did you?"

"Why would I need to do that when your thoughts are so clearly shown on your face?"

"Oh."

We didn't have to wait long before our pieces were finished and we were on our way. He must have had some advance notice; I looked at Jaenelle as we made our way back. I wore one of my rings on my hand, it felt both strangely light and heavy at the same time, I think the heaviness was due to the fact that it was something I never thought I'd ever wear and yet light because it felt as though it belonged there. It was a perfect fit for my right hand's ring finger, which had began to feel a little weirder than normal, so I attributed the feeling with the new ring. I knew as a Black Widow that I would be getting a snake tooth soon, but I was hoping that wouldn't be for a while; I had to get more information on it before I'd feel that comfortable with one. Not like I had much of a choice in the matter. Asha was admiring her own ring; it was still fairly early in the afternoon as we made our way through town. We decided on walking since the weather was nice and it'd give Asha and I an opportunity to see a little more of the town. I was busy trying to ignore all the people who had stopped to look at us; I wasn't very comfortable with all the additional attention. A few people actually approached us, well more like they approached Daemon and Jaenelle, than greeted us after introductions were made.

When we finally got back to the Hall I was almost ready to go back to bed, but than I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. So instead I decided to see if there was anyone still out on the field today. Not surprisingly there was a few older youths going through their paces and I even recognized a couple of them, though normally I tried to avoid them. As I approached several of the males stopped to stare for a few minutes before resuming, their expressions not overly comforting. It was almost as if I now made them nervous instead of the other way around. I decided that I would just ignore them and go through my routine, if things were still so tense after that I would leave. Picking up my staff I began working the wood through the air, my muscles soon warming up to the exercise and my movement became more fluid and the stances came easier. I vaguely noticed Asha picking up a bow to practice her own lessons in archery. She was much more suited to the long distance weapons than I was which I was fine with. I was more than happy with my staff.

Towards the end of my routine I had gotten too confident so that when someone yelped it broke my concentration and my staff slapped against my shoulder with bruising force. Yelping myself I dropped the wood and rubbed my shoulder while looking around to see who got hurt first. I noticed Asha rubbing her forearm and she turned to look at me. We both broke out laughing; the tension we had been feeling from the males had broken with our laughter. I picked up my staff and walked towards Asha, who had just placed her bow down so she could take a closer look at any damage caused by the string.

"Well that was fun, let's not do that again, I don't think my shoulder would like it very much."

"At least the bruising will be slight, could have been worse."

"I guess it was a good thing in a way," I said as I looked over the men still in the field than looked back at the ring on my hand, "having this much power at our disposal could end up being nerve racking."

"I know what you mean, I could understand how others would be nervous having inexperienced people wielding jewels this dark, and the allure of using so much is strong."

"But we know first hand what happens when that feeling takes over."

We stood for a moment; lost in our memories of time gone by, both of us thankful that we were able to escape, relatively unscathed.

"A trip down memory lane wasn't really what I came over here for." I laughed trying to dispel unwelcome thoughts.

"What would you suggest we do now than? I don't particularly want to carry on all day with bow practice."

"Well I was thinking that we should learn how to create some basic shielding. I'm more concerned with defensive moves rather than offensive when it comes to using my power."

Just as I mentioned it, a wave of Red power swept towards us nearly knocking us off our feet. Last second timing saved us from landing heavily on our asses as we turned to see who sent out the wave. It couldn't have been Luciver; he was spending the day at his own home, even so I was a little surprised at seeing Daemon stepping onto the field.

"Too slow" he called to us, than sent another wave.

Out of instinct or reflex, I don't know which I instantly put my arms up to ward it off. The Red energy broke against what appeared to be an invisible wall like a wave against the rocks. That was when I realized that Craft was the manifestation of what we desired to accomplish. With this theory in mind I decided to test out my theory. Picturing a wave myself I directed it to Daemon and sent energy into it to send it on its way. When he stumbled I knew my theory was right, and I was glad I hadn't put too much power into it, since he was only wearing his Red at the moment. When he attacked again, I managed to put a fairly decent shield over Asha and myself. He soon stood a few feet away and smiled at us, I realized Asha had put up her own shield using mine as an example and was now playing with distance. I watched for a minute than concentrated on having it hover just above my skin. The results were great, knowing that I could snap up a shield so close to my skin would come in handy.

"Taking the offensive is a little different, but I believe the concepts stay the same." Daemon said

"I don't think taking the offensive will be a problem." I said to him, I wasn't about to get into any type of fight with him even if it was solely based on learning.

"Take your best shot." He said anyway as he switched to Black.

"I don't think…" I started to speak

Asha took him at his word and launched her offensive, wasn't bad in my opinion seeing as how we were still figuring out the logistics. Her competitive nature made its appearance as she began adjusting her strategy to find something she was comfortable with and yet stiff effective. I watched for a couple of minutes having no desire to join in, I wasn't fond of conflict. Daemon was offering Asha pointers and direction, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see him turn his attention to me as Asha took a breather.

"Don't look at me like that." I said as I started taking steps backwards.

He didn't say anything but he smiled, a slow smile meant to melt any resistance and as much as I despised it I knew if he kept it up I would be a goner. I wasn't about to actually attack him but I had to do something; I was running out of space to back into. What had Emma said… fight fire with fire? Sounded reasonable to me. I dove into the Abyss and sank to the darkest level I could go, stretching out dark tendrils of power I curled them around the approaching man, as soon as the first one touched his Black shield he stopped his eyes taking on a thoughtful and wearily look as the rope like things curled around him. Although none physically could get past his Black shield he could feel them on a different level, a more intimate level than he would have given me credit for. I wasn't out to hurt him, but I was planning on letting him feel a taste of his own medicine. An idea formed in my mind, I adjusted some things to make it more playful than vindictive. My ropes had finished surrounding him it reminded me of what a spider did to the unfortunate bugs that got caught in her web. Through the ropes I pushed a unique flavor of power, one designed to stir his own desires and awake his lustful side. Of course I made it so that it would be based solely off of the person he truly desired; no way in Hell was I going to mess with him on such a personal level. In essence I had turned his seduction on himself; I just hoped I hadn't over stepped myself.

I was just about to give up on it when I took a closer look at his face and noticed that his eyes were in fact starting to glaze over. Not knowing what I may be in for in terms of retribution I was slow in pulling the strands off him. Once completely free of them I dashed behind a tree and peeked out to see what he did. He stood there for a minute, staring at the same spot his muscles clenched and there was no doubt he was wound pretty tight. Asha had also dashed behind a tree and was staring at him too.

"What exactly did you do to him Kera?"

"I just thought I would reflect some of his energy back towards him."

"He doesn't appear to be very happy with it."

"Yes I've noticed that too, any wise ideas as to how I fix it?"

"Say your sorry?"

I didn't dare turn my head to roll my eyes at her, not that I was convinced that she would have seen it anyway. Daemon did a full body shudder as he seemed to snap out of it, he turned and pinned me with his gaze which still was a little too sleepy tiger looking for my comfort

"Where in the name of Hell did you learn to do that?" He asked as he decided to stay standing where he was. I don't think it was fear that made him stay there; I was firmly convinced that it was his surprise and probable anger that made him decide that staying there was better for my health.

"It was just something I came up with; I tried to make it more… unobtrusive… as I could."

"Unobtrusive? I wouldn't call it that per say, but I will tell you that it would probably be in your best interest to be very careful on who you spin that web for in the future."

"so your not angry?"

"No, I'm unsettled but not angry. Why don't you girls take a break and go inside for something to eat?"

"You're not going to come in with us?"

"I have something I have to do before I come in."

"Well okay if your sure than." I said as I walked with Asha back towards the house. We stopped a moment only to see him go around the other side of the building, the only thing there was the firewood pile. I shared a look with Asha than ducked into the house. The rest of the time was spent in similar fashion and soon we were off to our next adventure.

Page 14 of 14


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5

The trip to Shalador Nehele was uneventful in the physical sense; mentally I was ready to leap out of my skin with nervousness. It had gotten so bad that Lucivar had taken to trying to drown me with a relaxing tea that Jaenelle had sent with us. After what had to be the eighth cup I was ready to do some drowning of my own.

"Enough! If I have to drink one more cup of tea I will not be held responsible for my actions!" I snarled at the Prince

"It's either you drink the damn tea or I won't be held responsible for my actions" He snarled back at me.

"Um... although this is highly amusing to watch, may I remind you both that if you do decide to go for each others throats I will be caught in the middle and I'm not nearly as dark as the two of you." Asha said mildly.

The rolling thunderous undercurrent in the carriage stopped, I sat back and settled for glaring at Lucivar; I had to clench my teeth when all the bastard did was grin. I turned my gaze to stare out the window, I had never been to this area of the realm and the landscape was both interesting and empty at the same time. Asha sighed in relief and settled in too, since we sat beside each other she rested her head on my shoulder and nodded off. Now I had no choice but to sit still or else risk waking her, and she's not quite such a great person to deal with if woken up too soon, and I didn't have any coffee to appease her. Lucivar of course was amused, his shoulders slightly shaking as he chuckled to himself.

Now forced to sit still, I had nothing to distract me from my musings. We had met Cassidy before, we like her and the couple of warlord princes that had come with her. Spending time in her court wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that we wouldn't be the only Queens to be taking instruction from her. A few days before our departure we received a letter from Cassidy informing us that there are a few other girls there taking the same lessons. They were about the same age but it usually takes me a while to warm up to strangers. I didn't want to look like a fool in front of strangers, and the other girls were probably far more educated than we were.

With careful movements I grabbed my Protocol book and started reading it again, ignoring the look on Lucivar's face. I had read most of it before but I figured that I could just refresh my memory. My back ached and I knew that I hadn't much time now, a week tops, as it was I'll probably have to deal with the repercussions anyway. Asha had been studying her healing books religiously since she got them. She knew I would need help soon and she wanted to be able to help when the time came. We would be arriving at our destination soon so with the help of the eight cups of tea I settled in and read my book.

My first impression of the town when I saw it was that I loved it. It was small and seemed to be really close knit. Asha had woken a little while ago and now was currently staring out the window with me. There were buildings still going up all over the place, so there were lots of people milling about doing errands and chores. With these people running around I noticed a fair amount of schelties running around with them. I wonder how they will get along with Prince Kasmau and Arial who were following us outside. I didn't think there would be any problems but I didn't want to take any chances either. I will just have to try and keep an eye on him that's all, I thought as turned away from the window. Once we rolled to a stop the doors open and Lucivar exited first, turned and help us out of the carriage. With my feet now firmly back on solid ground I was steadier. Cassidy and most of her court was there to greet us, the rest of the introductions were made. Apparently the other girls had also just arrived and were at the moment getting their things packed away.

We were shown to what was to be our home away from home, it was a sturdy two bedroom house and it reminded us of our old home. Asha and I walked in and started situating ourselves with the place, the rooms were a decent size and we even had our own little kitchen. There was room just out back for a little herb garden for Asha as well. Standing at the back door I called in my Ebon Grey ring and put it on my finger, Asha also called in hers; we decided that we can always unpack our thing tonight but we both really wanted to play in the dirt. So calling in a few gardening tools we set to work. The earth was fairly dry and easy to work with, we soon had our seedlings planted and watered and we smiled contently as we both stood up and brushed our hands on our pants.

"You got dirt all over your faces and clothes." Lucivar said as he lounged against the back door frame.

Since I still wasn't quite happy with him I replied sarcastically.

"Gee I wonder how that happened..."

Asha huffed and with a small amount of Grey she cleaned us both up.

"There all better; now both of you try to pretend that you can stand each other for a few more minutes as we have other people yet to meet."

"Since when did you get all bossy? And why did you clean me up, I happened to like the dirt." I said mainly to be difficult.

"I'm bossy because you are acting like a child, and Prince Yaslana is not helping matters." She said with a small glare at the male; who just laughed and moved away from the door to let us pass.

There were three other girls here; each one was incredibly pretty and looked so self confident. Though it was obvious that one in particular was seen as the leader their names were Nicole, Britney and the leader Elizabeth. All where fairly tall and slender as reeds, making me very aware of my fuller figure; Nicole was a brunette with highlights that would make anyone envious. Her eyes were a warm honey colour and she was quick to smile at all the boys. Britney was a blonde with sky blue eyes that watched everything around her. Her smile wasn't a quick but something about it was predatory. Than there was Elizabeth, the apparent leader of the other two girls, with long black hair and starling green eyes she was easily the prettiest of the three. She had a small smile on her face but it was her eyes that held little warmth in them; when those eyes landed on Lucivar though it reminded me of a cat who had just spotted a delectable plump bird for the taking.

The look she gave him made even me uncomfortable, but it didn't appear as if Lucivar had noticed it. Still I didn't want anything to cause the damn idiot more trouble than we had already put him though, so with my head held high I walked over to his side and planted myself between her and him.

"Prince Yaslana, would you be escorting us around the town before you leave?" I asked careful to use respectful titles.

"It would be a pleasure." He answered just as politely, a twitch in his brow the only indication that he was aware that he though I was up to something.

Cassidy just frowned slightly at the request but chose not to say anything on the subject. Prince Ranon who stood at her side seemed to have guessed what the issue might be, but also wisely kept his mouth shut. I got a searing glare from Elizabeth for my efforts before she turned her back on me and walked away. The other two following in her wake, they had their own escort to show them around the town.

Having now avoided immediate danger I relaxed a little as Asha joined me at Lucivar's side. Prince Ranon and Lady Cassidy decided to join our group in the tour since she had a few things she wished to discuss with Lucivar. As she and Yaslana went off to one side to talk, Ranon took over telling us about the town. At the music store he stopped and turned to us, his eyes serious.

"I'm sure I've already guessed but would you mind telling me what just happened?"

"I don't know how much you know about our history, but I know the look a person gets in their eye when they spot something they want, and I know the type that when they find something they want not much will stop them." I answered not meeting his eyes.

"The girl wants Yaslana." He made it a statement but I still felt compelled to answer.

"Yes, and I apologize for any trouble I might have just caused by getting in her way."

"There's something not quite right about those girls, which is why they are here. Cassidy hopes that she'll be able to turn them around before they go too far down that path."

"I hope I didn't make things worse, but Yaslana is a friend even though more often than not I want to strangle him myself."

Ranon laughed, though it sounded a little scared. "I think I would pay to see that."

"So would I." Lucivar said striding back to us. From the look on his face he had probably heard everything.

"Prince..." I started but was cut off.

"I appreciate you looking out for me, but I've held to deal with those types of females a very long time, I know what I'm doing."

"I know... it's just that it's nice not having to do so one your own sometimes." I said with a small smile before walking on, Asha sending them a look of apology before she jogged to catch up with me; she took a hold of my arm and we walked back towards our home.

"We're not there anymore, you know that right?" She asked as we walked.

"I know, really I do it's just sometimes I see something that sparks up all those old memories."

"Yeah I understand, but we have to keep trying not to let them get to us like that."

"Those girls remind me so much of those dead bitches, the way they hold themselves, the way they talk hell even the look in their eyes are the same."

"But they are here to learn not to be that way, remember? They are still young enough to turn around."

"The question becomes, do they really want to change though?"

"We can't do anything about what they feel is the right path, we just have to concentrate on our own problems. Like when's dinner?"

I laughed; trust Asha not only to give sound advice but to crack the tension. She rubbed my back with her other hand her fingers brushing between my shoulders causing some pain to travel through me.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

"It will soon."

"Than we can't wait, we'll just have to try and fix what damage ha already been done."

"Here? Where I am surrounded by people I hardly know?"

"Would you rather lose them forever?"

That shut me up; it was bad enough that they may never be useable again, but to see they removed forever was worse in my mind.

"A week, by that time your herbs should be established and we'll have a better chance at not being discovered."

"Fine, one week than I don't care who finds out." Asha said stubbornly.

We reached our home; Prince Kasmau and Arial were inside making themselves as comfortable as possible, but such large animals it was fairly difficult in small quarters. I walked into my room to find Prince Kasmau sprawled on my bed looking disgruntled.

_This den is too small, need bigger one._

"Well I think the den as you call it is just perfect."

_Arial and I will sleep outside in open, we will watch entrances._

"I don't see a problem with that, just make sure no one steps on..." I stopped when I realized what I was saying. Who could miss such a large cat?

"Anyway, Asha and I are going to the dinning hall, will you need anything?"

_Yaslana bring food for us to eat so we don't hunt snacks._

"Snacks? No wait forget I asked I think I know what you are talking about."

Asha and I walked to the hall; the place was already filling up with people. We watched the hustle and bustle for a minute than notice Lucivar watching us. Why flag us down when a simple look will do the trick. I thought darkly as we made our way over to him. Everyone started taking their seats and we followed suit, we sat across from the other girls, Elizabeth still watched Lucivar with far too much attention in my mind, but there was nothing I could do at the moment. We filled our plates and started eating; I forced my mind on the conversations of those closest to us. The people here seemed really happy and content with their lives, whether they were Blood or not. I relaxed into the happy drone of voices until one voice spoke up.

"Prince Yaslana, I hope you are enjoying your time here, it's too bad you couldn't stay longer." Elizabeth cooed at him.

"Lets get something straight, I have no interest in you I will never be interested in you, so take this as your first and final warning." Lucivar said coldly, his eyes slightly glazing. Instead of clearing up though his eyes seem to be getting worse, like he was caught up in his own dark memories.

I didn't know what else to do; I decided that I was going to be my regular self.

"Prince Yaslana, would you like some more tea?" I asked as I switched seats with Asha, placing myself directly beside Lucivar.

When he didn't react and stayed staring at the girl across from him I knew I had to try something else. Reaching slightly across the table I snatched a pot of tea, I adjusted the temperature so that it was ice cold than promptly pour it over his head. He exploded out of his seat, knocking the chair backwards as he went, his wings snapped open in challenge and he finally turned his glazed eyes on me.

"Oh I'm sorry Prince, that was only four cups of tea in that one, let me get another for you to finish and maybe that will help you relax."

My words seemed to have finally reached his fogged brain, his eyes started clearing up even as the smile that touched his mouth made me want to duck and hide. Someone handed him a towel to wipe his face with. I remained sitting in the chair as he righted his and sat back down. I swear I could feel his mind working on a way to get back at me for what I did, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I went to take a sip of water only for it to have turned into that dreaded tea. It was childish and I had probably gotten off easy, but now even my temper was stroked. So I simply turned is ale into milk, which I am happy to announce he choked on. I finished the rest of my plate and just simply sat there trying hard not to laugh. Our specific table had gone quite after Lucviar's roar but most had a hard time not laughing at the spray of milk that went almost all the way across the table.

The three other Queens looked aghast at the display, but I stoutly ignored them I was just happy that nothing horrible happened. After dinner was over and the tables were cleaned and all the chores done, we left the hall and stood outside for a minute, we had some how managed to sneak out before Lucivar.

"Did you really have to turn his ale into milk? You do realize how childish that was?"

"Yes, but I just couldn't resist! And after all that damn tea he made me drink..."

"One does not turn an Eyrien's ale into milk, or they could find themselves in a heap of trouble." The dark voice behind us made me freeze, and turn woodenly to face Lucivar.

"I hate to point this out to you, but you started it." I said bravely.

"Oh Really? It was you who was driving us insane from your fidgeting. Now drink the damn tea."

"Fidgeting? Who wouldn't fidget, being stuck inside a small space with you on the way to some new place one's never been to before!"

"Children! Do you think you can go five minutes without it becoming an argument about something?" Asha said pushing us apart.

"Fine, I'm going to go to bed after I unpack my things so I'll say my goodbyes now, I hope you have a better journey back Prince. And you're welcome." I said stiffly before I stalked off leaving Asha with him as I retreated back into our new home.

Inside I went through my things and unpacked most of what I thought I would need. I hadn't meant to be so difficult but my temper always got the best of me when I was placed out of my comfort zone, it use to cause a lot of problems back when I was little more than a slave. I guess it's just something I will have to adjust to; in the meantime I better focus on the reason as to why we are here. I read several more pages before I heard Asha come in, we didn't say anything just continued reading.

The next morning we were up early and going through our exercise routines, when we saw others up and moving about we headed over to the eating hall. We got there fairly early, so we pitched in to help get breakfast ready for everyone. Although everyone was pleasant and kind, there was nervousness in the air, and I caught several glances towards the ring on my hand. They were nervous because I wore such a dark jewel, and I wasn't the only one getting some looks. Since there wasn't really anything we could do without taking our rings off, we decided just to do what we could without using Craft.

Cassidy came in to help several minutes later, approval shone in her eyes when she saw us working already and without Craft.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Lady." We said politely.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Fairly well considering we're in a new place, it'll get better though." I answered with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that, I take it you have both read the books?"

"Yes, Lady; we have both read our Protocol books." Asha said smiling as well.

"Than your time here should be fairly straight forward, if you have any questions please feel free to come talk to me."

"Thank you so much, we will keep that in mind." I said as we all took our seats to start eating.

As I was about to put the first forkful in my mouth the other Queens came in, took their seats and started eating. Their blatant rudeness almost made me choke on my food, I than happen to notice the jewels they were wearing. They were on the darker side as well; Nicole and Britney both wore Green, whereas Elizabeth wore Red. They probably thought that regular rules didn't apply to them since they were darker than Cassidy. Even if that was the reason, both Asha and I wore darker Jewels than them and yet they did not acknowledge us in any way.

I wanted to say something, but Protocol demanded that I let Cassidy take care of the problem. So without a word I went back to eating, when I was finished I excused myself and cleaned my dishes before I put them away. I left the hall to clear my head a little, the main reason for coming here was to see a properly functioning court works, when they use Protocol. Rubbing my temples to stop a headache from forming I returned just in time to hear the tail end of the dress down Cassidy gave the girls. Although they apologized, their faces told me they all but were choking on the words.

The girls were than sent to do the dishes as punishment without the use of Craft; it seemed like a fair sentence to me, but a little part of me wanted more. I steadily ignored that part and walked over to join Asha and Cassidy.

"So what is the plan for today?" I asked.

"Well I was hoping that you two will give us a hand with raising a couple more houses today."

"Sure, but I have to tell you, I know nothing of building houses." I said with a chuckle.

"That's okay; we just need your strength to help get the structure in place."

"Well that we can do." I smiled.

The days that followed were filled with house building and court business, and not necessarily in that order either. We wrote our daily letters to Jaenelle, telling her all the different things we were doing. I was careful to make sure my letters contained only things we were doing or learning. My personal life was my own; I didn't like to share it. About the sixth day there, my week was almost up; the other girls in my opinion hadn't improved an inch, in fact I swear they had gotten worse. They were clever enough to skirt the edge of the rules, not quite breaking them but not precisely following them either. I kept an eye on them, they liked to sneak over to the non-Blood village when they thought no one was looking, but I hadn't managed to get enough time to follow them to see what they were up to. The reply letters that we received from Jaenelle were quite personal despite the fact I've avoided anything personal. I wasn't about to start discussing my moon times with anyone, I will cross that bridge when I come to it, and after the brew Asha had made it shouldn't be for another month.

On the seventh day, I decided that I couldn't put it off any longer. Making my excuses I slipped away from everyone and followed the other three girls into the laden village. At first I couldn't see why they would come here, it was obvious that they weren't the best liked here, but they didn't seem to cause any actual problem in front of people. As I walked behind them, careful to keep several yards back so I wouldn't be noticed unless they actually turned and looked. They took several turns around the village and I was just beginning to think that they just liked walking around here when they came to an old looking house. They didn't even bother to knock on the door before they just went in; closing the door firmly behind them. Frowning, I slipped across the street to one of the windows, seeing nothing I moved to the next until at last I saw them.

It appeared to be a bedroom they were in, with a single bed in pushed up against the far wall. The rest of the room was bare and very little light penetrated the darkness of the room. A rustling sound from the bed alerted me that there was someone actually on it, but from the rattling of the frame it appeared as if that someone was bound to the bed. A sickening sensation began to form in my gut, and was only made worse when the girls moved closer to the bed with smiles of anticipation on their faces.

"Don't you know by now that no one can hear you?" Nicole said as she sat on the bed.

"Now, now Nicole I like it when they squirm when they know what's coming." Britney said sitting on the other side of the bed.

Elizabeth stood at the foot of the bed, her back to me and the window; she began to undress herself, the noise on the bed intensified as if the person on the bed was trying to get away. The sick feeling in my stomach boiled over and I was sick, throwing up everything I ate that day on the dirt ground. My heart was pounding and seemed to have taken up residence in my head. I couldn't bring myself to watch what they were doing inside the house, but the noise coming from it confirmed everything my brain conjured up.

When I walked in the door later that day Asha was waiting for me, her arms full of herbs and cloth.

"About time you returned I was beginning to think you were hiding somewhere" She said.

"No, I had promised I would be here and I am, but there is something I need to tell you." I said, my voice sounding hollow and cracked.

"What's wrong?" Asha asked concerned.

As we went into my bedroom to prepare I told her all that I saw and heard when I followed the other Queens. Asha was so quite I though she had left the room but when I turned to check she stood by the door staring at me.

"We have to tell someone."

"Than what?"

"I don't know, but we can't just let that poor man suffer like that."

I sighed; the only problem with telling someone is that there was a very good chance that they wouldn't believe what was being told. Asha went about laying out special coverings on the bed that would prevent anything from soaking in, than helped me remove my top. I lay down on my stomach with my head pillowed in my arms, and waited as Asha finished arranging her tools.

"It looks painful, you definitely have an infection, but I won't know how bad it is until you let them out."

"Just so you know I am not looking forward to this." I grumbled than hissed out a long breath when I opened the slits on my back.

It felt like I was ripping apart my skin I could even feel the liquid seeping out as they began to open. I couldn't be sure whether it was blood or something else probably a combination of both, either way it was hot and the smell was disgusting. By the time they were fully open I was panting, my back was on fire and Asha was cursing under her breath. I bit down on part of the fabric covering the bed as she reached in and gently pulled out the drenched black masses that were my wings. The infection was terrible, the fluid spilling out was hot against my now clammy skin and the pain was all consuming.

"I won't know how damage they are until I get them cleaned up, but first I have to do something about the infection in your back."

She worked as quickly as she could, cleaning away the dead tissues and flushing out the puss that continued to ooze out. I don't know how long she sat there working at it but eventually she began to tire.

"No matter how much I clean out, it just seems to fill up again. I need help Akira." She said exhausted.

"We could ask Shira..."

"I don't think she would be able to help too much, we need someone who understands the structure of wings; someone who had had some experience in actually mending the structure of the wing."

"You're not suggesting..."

"We don't have a choice, I'll ask Prince Ariel to send a message to her, and she is our only hope in fixing this mess."

"Fine." I relented, my back was killing me; it felt like someone had set it afire. My voice was little more than a panted whisper through the waves of pain.

"Here drink this; it will at least help with the pain."

"It had better not be tea..."

In Kaeleer, the Hall was quiet, maybe a little too quiet. Jaenelle sat in the library trying to read her book, but the stillness of the Hall was getting to her. Daemon sat across from her reading his own book as well as some papers that had come in late.

"I miss them." Jaenelle said in the quiet room.

Daemon put down his work and looked at her.

"It used to be livelier around here, I mean when they opened up a little. I even miss the yelling contests that Lucivar and Akira would get into over the silliest things. And I can't forget the music Asha could play. The place just feels so empty without them."

"You miss the yelling? Weren't you the one that usually broke it up?"

"That's beside the point; it's too quiet here without them around."

"Well then ask them to come back; I'm sure that you are capable of teaching them anything they will learn there."

"I can't do that, not yet anyway."

"Oh?"

"We must step carefully for a little while yet." Witch's voice held a hint of sadness.

"Is there really nothing we can do?"

Witch stared at him from Jaenelle's eyes; she was both angry and sad about the inability to change what was coming. A howl echoed throughout the hall, the sound urgent.

Lucivar and Jaenelle stepped off the landing web with Prince Ariel, and made their way to a little house in the middle of the town. Lucivar was pissed but also very worried all Prince Ariel told them was that something was wrong with Akira and that she needed help from people who knew wings. Why in hell would it matter whether or not someone knew about wings, if something was wrong she should have immediately gone to the healer. As they walked in the door they knew something was really wrong, Jaenelle ran into Akira's room and gasped. Akira lay writhing on the bed in agony, her back a mass of blood and puss, it continued to seep out of what appeared to be gaping wounds on her back, two black masses seemed to be attached to the inside of those wounds. It looked like someone had ripped her back open and had tried to disembowel her. Asha was busy trying to clean out the wounds but it seemed to be too big of a job for her to do solely on her own. Asha looked up at Jaenelle, with tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" Jaenelle said as she moved forward to help.

"I know we should have told you, but I didn't think it was this bad, she never said it was this bad..." Asha said brokenly.

"Hush now, I'm here to help now, let me have a look at what we're dealing with." Jaenelle said as she moved Asha out of the way to have a look for herself.

"Lucivar... I may need your help to hold her down, the fever has already taken her in its grips and I need to take a closer look at these wounds on her back."

As Lucivar gently pinned Akira to the bed so Jaenelle could get a closer look at the supposed gaping wounds on the girls back, her hand froze when she realized the black masses were actually attached in them, and when she ran her hand over the wet mass, she felt something very unusual. The black masses appeared to be feathered, and that's when it dawned on her. Her eye widened in shock, these were actually wings! Black feathered wings.

"Asha I'm still going to need your help. We have to get this infection under control before we can move outward. I will guide you but you will need to use your own strength to accomplish it."

"Yes of course, show me what to do."

For the next few hours the worked together, the oozing soon slowed to a stop the wounds soon only bleeding red. Once they had controlled that they moved on to see how damaged the wings were from being stuck inside that environment for so long. The damage was fairly bad considering the extent of the infection; the bacteria had done its job in eating away at some of the important flight feathers. The remaining feathers were dripping wet still and needed to be thoroughly cleaned before they attempted to dry them Lucivar was shocked as the wet gave way to dry feathers, with some power from Asha they were able to pin the wings upright so they were stretched out, using some strips of cloth they were able to construct a temporary hanging apparatus to keep the wings aloft. The feathers that were badly damaged had to be pulled to make room for new ones. Thankfully some of the main flight feathers weren't too badly ruined so it wouldn't take as long for her to recover the use of them. When the wings were completely dried, they were magnificent even though they looked a little worse for wear. Lucivar ran his hand over the bend on the wing closet to him, he had never seen anything like it before, nor had he heard of it. Wings that were feathered rather than membrane were completely unknown to him.

"What is she?" He said quietly, Akira having just slipped into a more fitful sleep in her room.

"Something thought to be long extinct." Jaenelle said as she preened through the remaining feathers, arranging them carefully into place; a small smile on her face.

"You knew what she is?"

"I suspected, but I didn't know for sure until I saw these. She's descended from a race not so far removed from the Eyreins. They too were fearsome warriors, talented with many weapons. The race, I believe they were called Sereins were thought to have disappeared completely thousands of years ago. I never thought I would get to see one."

"Than how did she come to be here?"

"My guess is that she's essentially a throw back."

"So you're saying she's the only one of her kind?"

"More than likely, it would explain why she tried so hard to hide what she was." Jaenelle checked Akira's temperature.

"Her fever is going down, she will have to stay in bed for a few days but she should be fine, if she waited any longer she would be risking her life as much as her ability to fly."

I awoke from the darkness to be greeted with blinding sun, pouring in from the window next to my bed. My back ached and felt tight in some places, but it wasn't trying to kill me anymore which made me sigh in relief. My internal clock was screwed up so I knew I had been asleep longer than just one night.

"Good your awake, this means you'll live."

"Oh no, I must still be having that nightmare, if you're here I must surely be near death's door."

"Be thankful your not, I wouldn't be the only one you would have to deal with if you were."

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me up?" I asked as I tested my mobility.

"So now you're asking for help?"

"Fine, just go away." I snarled; I wasn't in the mood to be made to feel guilty for not saying anything sooner. Plus my back still ached badly and I was never really any good with pain, it tended to make me moody.

Using a little Ebon Grey I managed to free my wings from their moorings. The muscles were stiff and sore from disuse and from being held in such a position for so long. They fell to the bed with a flap, I lay there for a few minutes just breathing through the new agony before I slid my legs off the bed than straighten. I had to grab the bed frame to keep my balance, it had been such a long time since I had them out that my wings where knocking me off balance. Throwing a glare at Lucivar who continued to stand by the door watching; his eyes sharp and slightly glazing over as if watching me in pain was as difficult for him, I extended and closed my wings to get some feeling back in them and to remember how adjust my weight to counter act the difference. Like any limb that had gone to sleep and now was expected to wake up, my wings brought a whole new meaning to the "pins and needles" sensation, but it the sun would shine in Hell before I let the ever watching Prince know. With them tucked closed I stepped away from the bed and towards the window, silently patting myself on the back when I didn't fall flat on my face.

"And she says I'm stubborn." Lucivar said with a sigh and walked into the room. He joined me by the window, standing close enough to catch me if I fell but not too close as to be touching me.

"Look, I'm sorry I hadn't said anything before, it's not exactly something I have a habit of talking about." I said grudgingly folding my arms over my chest, my thin backless shirt barely preventing the cool morning air from stealing my warmth. Lucivar sighed heavily and wrapped me in a warming spell to stop my shivering.

"It's not that I'm pissed about, it's why the hell did you wait so long?" Lucivar all but roared at me.

"I don't know..." I said softly, I didn't understand why I had waited so long, maybe I thought that it would simply go away eventually. Or that some part of me harboured the fear that I would get a repeat performance of what happened the last time I showed them to anyone.

"You're to rest for another few days during which you have to keep them out during that time. Be thankful that those are the Lady's orders and not mine."

"I can't do that! I would have to stay..."

"You can and will; Jaenelle has already spoken to Cassidy before she left, so they've been made aware of your foolishness." Even as he said it in such a stern voice he had move around me and was carefully inspecting my wings in the light coming in through the window.

I swore I felt my heart drop, I had spent the majority of my life hiding them from people, and now the knowledge was out there. I was afraid now; actually that was an understatement, I was completely terrified, my mind had begun to spin down the dark corners of my memories, I had to change the subject if I wanted to keep sane. Only once in the past had I left them out so freely and I had paid dearly for it.

"There was something I need to talk to you about." I told him what I had seen and heard the other day, everything I had told Asha I now told him. The room went deathly silent when I finished, I hugged myself tighter; every time I repeated it made me feel like I was somehow back to being used as a slave. Lucivar was quiet beside me; his muscles clenched with tension, his wings were snapped close to his body to stop the tremor that had taken root in his frame. When I shifted slightly closer to the sun coming in the window I could than see his face more clearly. His eyes were completely glazed over. I really shouldn't have been surprised at that considering the information. But he wore a Jewel just as dark as mine but he still seemed really scary to me when he got like this.

"Lucivar? I'm really sorry; I probably shouldn't have said anything till I had more concrete evidence to show you..." I trailed off as he left the room, his temper preceding him as he went. I dashed to get a proper top, adjusting it to fit around my wings before running out to catch up to him. The running part was a little difficult because of the new weight but I managed by some miracle.

By the time I managed to catch up to him, we were almost at the house I told him about. Seeing it again made me freeze several feet away from it but Lucivar didn't pause, he shoved the door open, startling the occupant inside. The door he had shoved had literally disintegrated from his touch, a sure sign that his temper had the best of him. At the yelp I moved forward to see what was going on. A young teenage boy had sat at the table eating his brunch; he had jumped away when Lucivar stormed in. This was the first time I had actually seen the boy, but I had no doubt this was the poor creature that had been tied to bed the other night. The slight abrasions around his wrists proved it and I was betting he had matching patterns on his ankles as well, he shuffled as far away from the Eyrein as possible. Lucivar stared at the boy for a minute than went to check the rest of the house. I moved into the kitchen, the boy's eyes jumped to me as Lucivar left the room.

"Who are you?" I asked gently.

"Why? What's it to you?" He said the tremor in his voice belying the tough words.

"Well if you don't want to tell me your name than could you tell me if you're hurt?" I said

"I'm fine; I don't need yours and anyone else's help!" He said slowly gaining courage.

"It didn't sound like you were fine yesterday all tied up." I said bluntly.

His face lost all colour as he stared at me, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"I believe she's asking if you were used against your will." Lucivar said as he came back from looking the house over, the boy went back to cowering. The temper still riding the Warlord Prince hard, it was obvious that the boy was reacting to it.

"I wouldn't have used those words, but the meaning is what I was aiming for." I said watching Lucivar's eyes, those golden orbs were still glazed but at least he was listening.

"I don't know what you are talking about, there's nothing wrong with having some fun."

"Fun? Are you sure about that?" Lucivar asked, his voice going deeper.

"Yes fun, they didn't do anything to me that I didn't want." The boy said bravely, the scent of fear so overwhelming that I couldn't tell if he was lying or not. And apparently neither could Lucivar, if the boy claimed it was consensual there was nothing more Lucivar could do about it.

"Where are your parents?" the glazing in his eyes slowly receding. The effort to control his anger must have been fierce.

"Don't got any."

"Well than you're coming with me."

"Don't wanna!"

"You don't have much choice in the matter, pup. Now get your things and get moving." Lucivar said folding his arms across his chest and flaring his wings a little.

When the boy ran from the room I turned on Lucivar, my own wings flaring a little in response. The newly healing wounds protested the quick motion but it barely fazed me.

"Why does he have to go with you?" I was feeling protective of the boy, since in my heart I knew he was lying to cover for those bitches.

"He's coming with me so that those whoring little sluts can't touch him anymore."

"So you believe me?" I asked not quite believing he would take my word so easily.

I just received an exasperated expression to my question, so decided to ask another.

"Where are you taking him?"

"There's a special orphanage in Kaeleer that Daemon keeps an eye on, I think that's the best place for him."

"He'll be safe there?" I asked sternly, I wasn't about to let the poor boy go without some assurance.

Lucivar paused a second maybe realizing that I was serious about protecting the boy even from him. He nodded still watching me closely, even as the boy came back into the room. His eyes slowly returned to the boy whose arms were full of dirty clothes and little else. My heart went out to him, I knew what it was like to have so little, or nothing at all. Without really realizing I was doing it, I sent out soothing waves of calm and security. I approached him confidently but respectively.

"Here let me help, please?" I said with a small smile and held out my arm to take his things.

Surprisingly he handed over the items although I think he practically dumped them on me to be a more accurate account of what happened, I used my power to clean them quickly and fold them. With great care I called in a small trunk and placed the items in it; turning to Lucivar I asked him if he would be so kind as to make sure the trunk traveled with the boy. I went back to the boy.

"I must apologize, I haven't introduced myself properly. My name Akira, if you need any help please send me a note at anytime, I will do my best to help."

"Um... Thank you, my name is Johnny."

"It's very nice to meet you, Johnny; this is my friend Lucivar, I know he looks scary but he's a really nice guy; just so long as you don't try to give him milk." I smiled as the boy answering grin lit up his face.

The boy followed Lucivar out the door; I followed behind them, than paused and watched them walk away. I turned back towards the house, snapping up an Ebon Grey shield around the place I unleashed my full power and anger at the building. The building disintegrated under the force and when I was certain it was all gone I let go of the shield. They won't ever be using that place again for their games. Turning to leave I flared my wings feeling the airs sift through my feathers; it felt good to have them out although I would never admit that to Lucivar.

When I returned to our side of the town I receive a lot of stares. I did my best to ignore them and continued on to the hall where we were to meet Cassidy. When I walked in all eyes turned to me, Asha got up and came to see how I was doing.

"I had forgotten how pretty they looked when they were out" She said with a smile.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, and thanks for all you did to make them better." I said in response than turned to Cassidy.

"I'm sorry I'm so late I had something to take care of before I came."

"Prince Yaslana has told me all about it, there's nothing for you to worry about." She smiled at me.

I felt better that the three bitched were even later than I thought, than I realized that this was about the time they went to the house. Several minutes later they came in; the look in their eyes was worth the wait. They must have seen that their game house was no more and not only that their little plaything was also gone. Elizabeth's gaze narrowed in on me, she knew I was the one responsible. It wasn't as if I was trying to hide that fact either, I met her eyes and raised an eyebrow in query. If she wanted to talk about it now I was more than happy to air out her dirty laundry. Instead she and others went and sat at their usual spots and pretended to listen to the lesson.

After the lesson was over, Prince Ranon came over to me and offered to walk Asha and I back to our home. I knew he was worried about any repercussions that may fall my way. I polity told him that I can take care of myself. I also gently pointed out that he wore a lighter Jewel than me and the girls he was planning on protecting me from. With a wave Asha and I left the hall.

I created a tight Ebon Grey shield around me, Asha snapping a Grey over herself as we made our way home. We were about half way there when I felt their arrival.

"Who let the freak out?" Nicole sneered as their group approached, stopping several feet away.

"Just what are those things? Are they supposed to be wings?" Britney asked pointing at my wings.

"Where is he?" Elizabeth asked her voice tight with her anger.

"He's somewhere where you will never touch him again, you should be thankful that he claimed it was all consensual or else you wouldn't be standing there in your pitiful anger." I said my anger rising with each word.

"He was mine! You had no right to touch him!" She yelled at me.

"Right? You dare talk to me about rights? Where were the boy's rights when you had him tied down? Where were his rights when you used him again and again? You have no right to tell me about rights!" I snarled

"He's just a laden orphan, he should be thankful we took such good care of him." Nicole said.

"Is that what you call it? Would you like to know what it feels like than?" I asked, my voice deepening in a purr even as the ice in it caused Asha to shiver in response.

"Don't do it, Akira they aren't worth the effort." Asha said trying to pull me to the house.

A loud feline roar filled the night as I struck out at them. Tangles of power dropping over them without warning, as soon as the tendrils touched them they dropped to the ground and began to twist and groan. My fury built up their agony to the breaking point, over and over again their minds experienced what it was like to be used and passed around. A shout went up and people came running. Prince Talon was the first to arrive having been on his way to check on us. He tried to use his jewel against the power of my anger; Sapphire met Ebon Grey and fell beneath the sheer power of the darker jewel. Prince Kasmau came up to my side and nipped my hip. The pain snapped my out of my fury to turn at the Arcadia cat.

"That hurt!" I snarled at him, my power already withdrawing from the women on the ground.

_You are to stop now, Queen-cub_.

"But..."

_They will learn better now, you showed them your fangs they will not be so quick to challenge you again_.

I stared at his beautiful blue eyes, and suddenly I was so very tired. I slopped to my knees in the dirt and leaned my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, what had I done? They deserved punishment but not like this, no one deserved this, did they? I could feel tears gathering in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. People were over with the women now helping them get to their feet. With Kasmau's help I climbed back to mine, despite my exhaustion I wasn't about to show any weakness to them. They stared at me in both hatred and fear. They soon stormed off, not once looking back. When they were out of sigh Talon turned back to us.

"Mind telling me what the hell brought that on?"

Leaning on Kasmau for support and comfort, I repeated everything for him.

"What were you doing to them?" He asked wearily.

"In all honesty you probably don't want to know, but if you must I was just giving them a taste of what they were doing to Johnny."

"A taste?"

I smiled; it was a cold, unemotional thing and it made Talon straighten when he saw it.

"Yes a taste, if I had given them any more they would have broke, and than they wouldn't feel anymore and that simply won't do."

"It is not your call to make, Lady."

"And for that I apologize, my anger got the best of my better judgement."

"You would be lucky if they don't ask for compensation."

"Let them try, I will be no ones whipping boy." I said, my eyes narrowing at the thought.

Realizing that I still walked the knife's edge I decided the best course of action now was to leave the killing field. With my closet friends at my side we left, when I was back in my room I went straight to bed. My wings covering me like a black blanket of feathers. Kasmau even came in and lay at the side of my bed. He set a Green shield around my room. Asha came in as well and crawled into bed behind me, I adjusted my wings so she wouldn't end up lying on the. Prince Ariel lay on the other side of the bed. For the first time in a long while I felt safe as I drifted off to sleep.

At some point during the night I woke up, I had no idea what woke me but I didn't want to stay in bed any more. Something was pulling at me and now matter how I tossed and turned I couldn't shake the feeling. I stepped softly over the sleeping cat and left my room than the house. Night had fallen completely, the coolness felt good against my heated skin. As I stood there I heard a scream, the sound abruptly cut off; I took off racing across the ground towards the sound. When I got there I skidded to a stop, not five feet away lay the body of a young boy. He had a startling resemblance to Johnny but it wasn't him. He looked like he had been torn apart be animals, but there was an undercurrent of Craft enhances spells around the body. His eyes were open and staring, his mouth gapped open in an eerie silent scream. I dropped to my knees beside the body, I carefully looked to make sure no other spells would be triggered if I touch the corpse, but I had a feeling that there was nothing more. People began to gather, having heard the noise, Kasmau walked up to me and sniffed the body.

_Very bad smells__..._


End file.
